Convergent
by katelovesyou
Summary: Allegiant alternate ending and subsequent Book 4 (begins around chapter 50/51 of Allegiant) Tris and Uriah both live and (of course!) there is an interesting twist that will change everyone's lives as they know it. Thanks for the support and please enjoy. :)
1. Prologue and Chapter 1 - The Aftermath

**Author's Note: This is my very first FanFic. I had this idea of what I thought should happen in Allegiant, which obviously didn't happen, so I thought I would write it myself. Reviews tell me whether or not you guys like my storyline and whether I am doing a good job or not. Opinions and constructive criticism are welcome! The story starts out a little slow, but by chapter 4/5 the story really develops! Stick with me and enjoy.**

**-Kate**

* * *

Prologue

_Tris_

* * *

I slam my hand onto the green button as a slip down to the floor. I feel hot liquid running down my neck. It's blood. David shot me.

I get a glimpse of him in my peripherals and it appears as though he has passed out in his wheelchair. He must have been exposed to the memory serum. At least if I'm going to die now, I die knowing that I completed my mission and hopefully, all of my friends will now be able to live a better life.

Everything is starting to get dark but I see a figure walking towards me. Wait, no… There are two figures, a man and a woman. As they approach me, I recognize their faces. It's my parents! They must have come to bring me with them to whatever afterlife exists in this massive and confusing world. Everything I have grown up knowing has been a lie, but I am so happy to know that I will be able to be with my parents again. I just wish I didn't have to leave Tobias behind.

* * *

It feels like it has been a lifetime since I saw my mother take those bullets for me. She sacrificed herself to save me and I couldn't even live through this war to honor her sacrifice. She would never feel as though I disappointed her, but I most certainly do. I feel her presence; I can smell her scent. There is something magical about it. It brings me back to my childhood in Abnegation, back before life got complicated.

What happened to us? It seems as though our world was flipped upside down in an instant. Perhaps it was my innocence or my ignorance that makes me feel this way. Maybe this whole war was a long time coming and I just didn't know because I didn't know much of what was outside of my school and Abnegation.

I suppose it doesn't quite matter anymore. I am reunited with my parents now, and for that I am grateful.

* * *

Chapter 1

_Tobias_

* * *

Mediating a peace agreement between my parents for the leadership of my city is something I never though I would have to do. More so, however, I never though I would have to tell my best friend, and his mother, that I let his little brother get hurt on my watch and now he will never wake up again. I feel like I killed Uriah myself.

I am glad all of this will be over soon. I can't wait to get back to the compound and see Tris and tell her the good news.

The ride back to the compound with Zeke and Hana was quiet and slightly uncomfortable. I am not sure how to comfort my best friend in a time like this. I feel like he is disappointed in me. Like there was something more I could have done to save Uriah.

I can tell how much safer everyone feels, though. That is, everyone besides Zeke and Hana. The looks on their faces is of utter confusion and sadness. I hear Amar explaining everything to them as we drive to the compound, but I am not really listening. All I can think about is how Tris is taking the death of her brother after his courageous feat of releasing the memory serum in the compound.

When we arrive at the gate to enter the compound, there are no guards around. It looks abandoned.

As we pass through the security checkpoint, I see Cara standing ahead of us. Her face is badly bruised and she is wearing a troubled frown.

"Cara, what's happened? What's wrong?" I question.

Cara's lips tremble and I know what she is going to say next.

"Tris took Caleb's place and ran into the death serum. She was able to survive it, but when she arrived in the Weapons Lab, David was already inside waiting for her. She was able to set off the memory serum before David shot her in the head." Her eyes fill with tears and her mouth trembles uncontrollably. As she finished speaking, she buried her face in her hands.

I don't know what to think. I can't believe my soul mate was shot in the head trying to give all of the test cities a better life, free from gene discrimination.

"No," Christina blurted. "There's no way Tris would do something that stupid."

It's only then when I stare at Cara and her uncontrollable emotions that I realize what must have happened.

"Cara, I have to see her. Where is she?"

"They've taken her to the hospital. They're not sure if she will make it through the night. She may never wake up. If she does, she may have severe memory loss. There's no way to know," Cara explains.

* * *

I start walking around. I am not quite sure where I'm going. I feel like I'm in some sort of haze. I hear footsteps behind me, but I just want to gather my thoughts before I head to the hospital.

"Tobias, please. Wait!" I'm not sure who it is, but the voice is oddly familiar.

I snap out of my haze and turn around to see Caleb standing there. He is the last person I want to talk to right now. This is entirely his fault.

"What do you want, Caleb!" I am nearly screaming in a silent hallway, but I don't care. He is a coward and he is not worth even half of Tris's life.

"I just want to explain what happened. It happened so fast and there was nothing I could do to stop her," Caleb began. His eyes were pleading for me to give him a few minutes and listen, so I obliged.

I stare off at the wall somewhere above the right side of his head so that I don't have to look at him anymore. I can't look at him and know what he has let happen to her.

"Tobias, she held me at gunpoint and there was no way I could have gone in instead of her. She wasn't going to have it." His eyes were bloodshot and I could tell he had been crying.

"She loved me enough to die for me. I don't understand why after what I did to her, but it's just who she is," Caleb explained. "She did want me to tell you something, though."

"What?" I am getting so frustrated at him. I just want to beat the shit out of him. The fact that Tris died for him because she loved him means that I need to find it in my heart to love him too, just the way she did. I told her that I was her family now, and I have to do the same for Caleb. It's what she would have wanted.

"She told me that if she didn't survive, she wanted you to know that she didn't want to leave you." Caleb is on the verge of breaking down.

I am glad that he told me that Tris was thinking about me in possibly her last few moments alive. She wanted me to know that this wasn't another lie or scheme she concocted. She was being selfless. She was being Abnegation.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Decision

Chapter 2

_Tobias_

* * *

I go find Christina, Harrison, Cara, Zeke, Hana, Amar, Evelyn, and George. It's time to decide the future of our city and our lives.

"We need to gather all of the Chicago residents that are in the compound for a meeting. We _have_ to decide what our next step is. We could go back to the city and keep living in our factions. It is what we know and what we are comfortable with. Now that Jeanine is dead and the situation between Evelyn and Marcus has been resolved, maybe we can live in our factions and be comfortable. The only issue with that is, the majority of the population from our city has died. It will be strange to try to live in our factions with such few people.

"Another option is to remain factionless and try to live as normally as possible in Chicago. The only other option I can see is turning our city over to the United States government and trying to assimilate into society as a regular city that anyone can move into. Whether it be people from other cities, such as Milwaukee, or the Fringe," I explain.

I see Amar thinking deeply about everything I have said. I trust his judgment. Although he lied to me about his death, he has been watching our city ever since. He knows what has been going on and he understands the experiment that we were a part of.

"I have an idea," Amar hesitantly states.

"Okay, shoot. I'm open to anything," I try to say encouragingly.

"It's a little bit out there and I'm not sure you guys will like it. One of the other test cities, Minneapolis, has a small population. It's not too far away from here, but compared to the other test cities, it is the farthest away. I propose that we send a few representatives over there to explain the experiment to them. Tell them everything we know.

"They will be shocked. The majority of them are very comfortable with their lives and the faction system, much like the way you all used to be before the leadership of the factions began to become corrupted.

"I say we give them options, just like all of the residents of Chicago. The residents of Minneapolis can decide to either join you all in Chicago under the old faction system, or they can choose to go live a normal life in Milwaukee under US government control. Chicago will function the same way it always has under the faction system and the US government will recognize this and allow it and only intervene when necessary. It is an agreement that was put into place when the test cities first began, so there should be no issue with the government allowing this," Amar concluded.

Everyone's faces are a little perplexed. I can tell that everyone is deep in thought.

"I think that's a great idea. It will allow our city to grow back to it's former glory as well as allow us to meet new people who understand what we have been through and how we have been living our lives. These are people who share our values and our manifestos. I, personally, don't want to live like a normal citizen of this country that I know nothing about. I would much rather continue my life in Dauntless as a leader and turn it around from being corrupt, to being what it was originally meant to be," I explain. I hope that the others agree with me. Not only that, we also need the members of the city to agree and the members of Minneapolis as well. Otherwise, none of this will work and we will be back to square one.

Cara is the next to speak up. "I loved what Erudite was supposed to stand for. Jeanine turned the faction into something else entirely. I would love to help restore it to its former glory."

Everyone in the group is beginning to feel the same way. I see everyone start nodding their heads and I can see a fire behind their eyes.

The only person who doesn't seem too happy about this is my mother.

"Evelyn? What do you think of this," I ask.

"I respect the decision you all have made to recreate the faction system in the city, but I cannot live that way. I do not feel comfortable being confined to a set of standards to which I am supposed to live by and act according to. I will help you all reestablish the factions and then I will go live in Milwaukee and try to start a new life there."

I can't believe she is bowing down so gracefully. I am really starting to feel proud that she is my mother. After everything we have been through and all of the things she has put me through, I am finally seeing her true colors.

"One thing I would like to make sure we establish with our residents as well as the residents of Minneapolis is that the Divergent are not a threat. They are not dangerous or bad. They are just like everyone else. They will be accepted and allowed to choose any faction they like, just as all of us were able to do on Choosing Day," I state.

"I couldn't agree more, Four," Amar agrees.

"Who would like to volunteer to be our ambassadors and go to Minneapolis to ask them to relocate to Chicago and restart their lives with us?" I ask.

"I will go," Amar pipes up first.

"As will I. I have the experience dealing with the residents and I know what they are like through our observations," George says.

"Thank you both for volunteering. I would love to join you both, but I need to be here with Tris, whatever happens to her," I explain. "I would love one of our residents to go with you two and represent us, our values, and ideas for what we want the city to be like from here on out."

I see a fire in Cara's eyes. "I will gladly go," she declared. "When will we leave?"

George and Amar look at each other and nod. "Tomorrow," they say in unison.

* * *

**Author's Note: Please let me know what you think so far via review or PM. I know my chapters have been somewhat short so far, but I have a great plan for where this story is going. **

**Thanks guys!**

**- Kate**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Turn

Chapter 3

_Tobias_

* * *

Now that I finally have a free moment to go visit Tris, my emotions are on a rollercoaster. It feels like an eternity since I last talked to her and I didn't even think that it could be the last. Her eyes were filled with passion and love with a deep sense of longing for just one more private moment together. I still remember the last words she said to me; "I love you." I didn't think for a second that I could possibly lose her this time. The plan was set in stone and I was confident that Caleb would follow through and that I would come back to the compound to Tris and we could build our future together.

From the atrium, I make my way to the hospital. The walk feels endless, like a hallway with no doors.

I can't have been walking for more than five minutes when I reach the hospital, though it feels like it has been hours. I don't really remember much of the journey. My emotions took control of my mind as I walked, completely checked out from reality.

"Where can I find out what room Tris is in?" my voice cracks as I ask the receptionist. I can already feel my emotions boiling over. I don't know what to expect when I see her. What kind of condition will she be in?

"No one is allowed to go in except Four," she says without even glancing up at me. I clear my throat to get her attention and she finally looks up and adds, "Oh, I am so sorry. Right this way, sir."

She leads me through a series of hallways that I try desperately to remember. Tris has a more private room towards the back of the wing. It just so happens to be Room 46. I chuckle a little at the irony, but as soon as I see her lying in the hospital bed, any happiness I might be feeling quickly evaporates.

There is a chair waiting at her bedside, beckoning for me to sit in it. As I take my place in the chair, I grab hold of her right hand. It is soft and gentle. It is unlike any other Dauntless hand I know. I keep hold of it in between my palms, occasionally intertwining our fingers.

I know she is in some sort of coma, but I can't help but talk to her. I know she can't understand me, but she must be able to hear me. She is the woman that I want to share my life with, the only person to ever make me feel nothing and everything at the same time. If these are the last moments I will ever have with her, I want them to be happy and special, remembering all of the great moments that we have shared.

I stare at her right hand and reflect, "I remember the first day I saw you in Dauntless. You were the first jumper! That's the only one anyone in Dauntless cares about anyways. When you rolled off the net and I looked into your mesmerizing eyes, I knew I wanted you to be mine. It was just a matter of time until I made a move, putting my palm on your stomach to steady you. I had to have you, Tris."

My eyes are beginning to well up, but I can't control it. I am not one to cry, much less show emotion, but this is just heart wrenching. "I couldn't bear to watch Peter beat you up, but if I intervened, Eric would have known my true feelings for you. I couldn't put you at any sort of disadvantage with him. It crushed me to see you so helpless. My favorite moment was when we climbed the ferris wheel together. Spending those few moments alone with you were so indescribably incredible. I never would have climbed up there with anyone but you. You bring out the best in me, Tris."

I feel like a child at this point. I am sobbing and blubbering like an idiot, but I know she must hear me and feel what I am feeling. The love that we share is special and one of a kind. We have a bond like no other.

"When I threw the knives at you, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I knew I had to do it, because if Eric did it, he would have hurt you. If I was in control of the situation, I could almost tease him by just barely drawing blood from your ear and causing you no real harm. You were so irate with me, but at the time, I knew you couldn't see that I did it out of love and protection. It was after that moment that I was finally able to admit to myself that I loved you, I just had to figure out how to prove it to you."

As I sob and stare at our hands mingling together, I lean forward and kiss her forehead. It is a small gesture that has become commonplace in our relationship. It is a simple form of affection between us that goes the farthest distance of all. It is something we are both comfortable with in public and at this moment, it is all I can do. I rest my head on her stomach, trying to be close to her. I wish I could jump in bed with her and cup her body into mine and radiate my warmth into her.

A few days pass by, I lost count of them but it had to have been ten or so, and I've rarely left her side. There hasn't been any progress in her recovery. The doctors aren't looking too optimistic anymore.

As I do on a daily basis, I rest my head on her stomach as I intertwine our fingers. It is up to me to decide when to take her off of what the doctor's call "life support". At that time, she won't have any help breathing and slowly, she will die. I told myself that the day I come in and don't cry anymore would be the day I let her go. Today is not that day.

As I rest my head on her stomach, I slowly begin to allow my emotions run down my cheeks. I can't help it and I realize that I may never be able to come see her and not cry at the sight of her helpless body lying in this bed.

I hear a small groan come from her mouth. I quickly perk up and instantaneously my childish sobbing seizes. I stare at her face in awe, excited and happy and unsure.

Was it my imagination? I can't be sure.

I see Tris' eyes flutter and slowly begin to open. My tears instantly begin flowing again, but this time, not out of sadness, but rather out of hope. I still have no idea what kind of condition she will be in when she fully awakens, but at least I know there is a possibility that she will be fine. She hasn't left me yet.

* * *

Her eyes finally fully open and I am instantly incapacitated by the fact that she is waking up. She looks at me and then instantly looks at her right hand, which I realize I am squeezing so tightly that I may be hurting her. I release the pressure and intertwine my fingers with hers, beaming with happiness and hope.

"Hi, stranger," I taunt. I could have come up with something much better to say to her first, considering what she has been through, but it will suffice.

"Tobias, I love you." Her voice is raspy and dry, as though something is scratching her throat. I am just glad to hear her able to form words. There is nothing more I could ask for right in this moment.

"I love you too, Tris. I am going to go get the doctor so he can check on you now that you have woken up. I'm so relieved; I can't even explain it to you. I was so sure I had lost you this time."

I regretfully let go of her hand and walk out to the nurse's station.

"Tris has woken up. And she is speaking. Can you please send the doctor over to check on her and see if there is any change in her prognosis now?" I ask with apprehension clear in my voice.

"Right away, Four," the nurse states with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

As I make my way back to her room, I stop for a moment and release a huge sigh. I am so relieved and the reaction of the nurse is certainly helping me calm down and have hope that everything will be okay.

* * *

When the doctor finally arrives at her bedside, I can tell that this is a great sign. His face looks relaxed and confident. He appears to have just as much hope as I do that she will be just fine.

"You know, Four, things weren't looking too good for a while there. I checked on her only two hours ago and I couldn't have predicted that she would open her eyes ever again, much less be speaking and comprehending everything just like normal. I don't know what you said or did, but it sparked something in her brain to continue fighting to come back to us." As the doctor explains this to me, I glance at Tris and see the deep love in her eyes. I realize that there is no way I could ever lose her and live on without her.

The doctor tells us that she will need to stay at least 24 hours for some observation and to make sure that this isn't just some sort of last minute flurry of brain activity before her body gives out on her.

Once the doctor leaves, I feel the urge to scold her for being so stupid and selfish and taking Caleb's place in the mission, but the sorrow and regret in her eyes forces me to reconsider. I can talk to her about that later, but for now, I just want to savor this moment with her.

I stay in the room with Tris all day long. Talking about nothing in particular, I don't want to overwhelm her with everything that has happened or the new mission that we are sending George, Amar and Cara on. As night falls, I can tell she is exhausted.

"Why don't you head back and go to bed. You look exhausted," she says without meaning it, clearly trying to be polite.

"There's no way I am leaving your side tonight. I don't want to be apart from you at a time like this. I love you too much to leave you alone right now." I stand up, briefly, and look out into the hallway to see that the nurses are preoccupied doing nighttime rounds on other patients. I pull the blinds down and shut the door, it's not much privacy, but it's enough for now. I jump in bed and curl up with her, spooning her into my body. I push my head forward to kiss the back of her head and her captivating fragrance wafts into my nose. There is something about her smell that is so enticing. I would lay here with her forever if I could, never letting her go.

* * *

I wake up early the next morning and find her sleeping soundly. Our hands are laced together and her body is cupped close to mine. Moments like these are ones to cherish. There is nowhere else I'd rather be right now.

I feel her begin to shift a little and I know she is waking up now as well. She begins to roll over and all I can think of is that the doctor's "worst case scenario" didn't happen. She is still here with me, physically as well as mentally.

"Good morning, love," I whisper in her ear. I can tell it sends a little shiver down her spine by the goose bumps that form on her arm. I nibble at her ear and give her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning, handsome. I am glad I'm still here with you, but I am more glad that you are still here with me," she says with a grin and a sparkle in her beautiful blue-gray eyes.

"It looks like you will be able to get out of here today, just like we hoped." I can tell she is just as excited as I am. It is truly a miracle that she is suffering so few repercussions of a bullet wound such as the one she acquired.

I see Zeke walk down the hallway and quickly remember that Uriah is still here, his fate yet to be determined. The doctors told us that there was no hope for him. He was declared brain dead and only alive because of the machines he is attached to. I know it must be hard for Hana and Zeke.

"Uriah is still here. I think we should go see him and comfort Zeke and his mom. This has got to be a difficult time for them. Now that you have had a remarkable turnaround, maybe you can pass some of your luck onto Uriah," I explain to Tris, her eyes wide and confused. I know she would do anything for Uriah; he was always such a good friend to her.

We head down the hall and find his room. I knock on the door before entering to let Hana know that we are here.

"Oh, Four, please come in and take a seat. I am so glad that you stopped by," Hana says with a sigh of relief.

"How is he doing? Any better?" I ask inquisitively.

"Still the same. If things don't change by this afternoon, we have decided that we will have to let him go. Zeke isn't taking it well. He's been pacing all morning. I am not sure what god he is praying to, but he has been asking for a miracle for the past few days. So far, he hasn't gotten an answer," Hana explains as Tris and I stare somberly at Uriah's defeated face.

We sit there for an hour or so, chatting with Hana, trying to make her feel more at ease and hopefully get her mind off of her ailing son. When Tris and I run out of things to talk about, we begin to say our good byes.

Suddenly, Uriah starts to make noises, and we see his hands begin to tremor.

"Nurse! I need a nurse in here immediately!" I scream out into the hallway. I am not sure if this is a good sign, or a bad one. Either way, the outcome is inevitable.

A nurse rushes in and instantly calls for back up. They try to restrain Uriah, but his Dauntless strength overpowers them, and they can't hold him back for long. His eyes flick open and he sees Tris, Hana and I.

"Where am I? What's going on? Why are you letting these women attack me?" Uriah blurts out with a sense of fear and confusion in his voice.

"You're in the hospital sweetie. You had an accident. You've been asleep for almost two weeks. I am so glad you're coming back to me," Hana says with a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

Zeke runs into the room and Tris and I back out of the way to give him space with his brother.

"Let's step out and give them some space. We can come back later," I whisper into Tris' ear.

"I think that's a really good idea. This must be shocking for them," she whispers back.

A few hours after she has been cleared to leave, hand in hand, we make our way out of the hospital wing of the compound and head back towards our friends. The anticipation in Tris' face is unmistakable. It puts a smile on my face to know how much this means to her.

* * *

**Author's Note: I know my story is just developing, but I could really use some feedback to know how you all like it so far. Please leave a review or a PM with some comments of what you think so far. Anything I can improve on? **

**Anything helps me know where to go next from here! Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Moment

**Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, even though there isn't much dialogue. In the next chapter, we will find out what happened in Minneapolis and what the fate of the residents of Chicago will be. As always, feedback is MUCH appreciated. I write for you, so I like to know what you want out of me. Thank you so much for reading, I am really enjoying writing this story.**

* * *

Chapter 4

_Tris_

* * *

I wake up cuddled in bed with Tobias. His arms are wrapped around me tightly and I can hear his gentle breathing. He is sleeping well, I'm sure, only because he has me here with him and he knows that I am safe. Now that we have our own apartment in the compound, we have so much privacy and feel so comfortable being intimate with each other.

I decide to lie in bed; avoiding any and all movement for fear that I wake up Tobias. My stomach is grumbling out of hunger, but I put it out of my mind. He needs his rest and if he wakes up without me here, I know he will have a panic attack.

I can't help but think about everything that has happened over the past few weeks. I'm not quite sure how I knew, but a part of me just knew that I hadn't died. Seeing my parents was surreal, but it was a little _too_ surreal. I'm just glad to be back in Tobias' arms. There's something about his warmth that feels like nothing else I can possibly imagine.

He told me three nights ago, the night he took me home from the hospital, about Amar, George and Cara going to Minneapolis. I'm pretty surprised that this is what the Chicago residents decided on, but the thought of starting over in our city with new people who have been living the same lifestyle as us is very exciting to me. They are supposed to come back with the decision late tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait to hear what the Minneapolis residents decided.

I'm starting to get antsy and uncomfortable, so I slowly and gently try to roll over. As I do so, I hear Tobias groan. When I finally get myself rolled over, I am staring straight into his deep blue eyes. They are so mesmerizing and dreamy. Damn, I'm such a lucky girl.

"Good morning, beautiful," he whispers to me with a slight grin.

"Good morning, my love. Do you know what today is?" I say in the most taunting voice I can muster.

"Uhhh… the day Amar, George and Cara _might_ come back?" he asks.

"Well, yes. But that's not what I was getting at. It's your birthday silly!" I give him a quick peck before I jump out of bed to get ready and as I bounce my way to the restroom, say, "I have a special day planned for you today. But for now, just relax. I'm going to get ready and then cook you breakfast," I say with a huge grin spreading across my face. He has no idea what is coming today. In fact, I don't think he even realized that I knew when his birthday was.

I jump in the shower and try to go fast. I need to hurry so that I don't keep him waiting for this breakfast I've got planned. As I'm scrubbing my hair, however, I hear a little creak that I know belongs to the bathroom door.

"Tobias, no peeking! You know how I feel about that," I hastily yell at him.

"But Tris, it's my birthday," he says pleadingly, somewhat like a child asking for just one more cookie before dinner.

"Okay, fine," I concede. I hear a little whispered victory cry of "yes" just before the shower curtain slides back.

When it does, I see Tobias standing there stark naked. My face instantly flushes. I can't help but stare at his toned body and his striking features that just make me melt somewhere deep inside of myself. He jumps in the shower with me and presses his body up against mine, running his fingers through my hair and giving me a long, passionate kiss. Any nervousness I might have been feeling instantly evaporates. We haven't had sex since our first time; that day a few weeks ago in the room near the dormitory. I have been too apprehensive, but right now, I feel no apprehension at all. Everything just feels right.

I feel one of his hands run down my back, gripping me along the way. His other is pushing the back of my head, keeping our mouths locked together in one of the most passionate, loving kisses we have ever had. He puts his hands under my butt and hoists me up so that I can wrap my legs around his body. He steps out of the shower and walks us to the bedroom. As he does, I whisper in his ear a gentle "I love you," and he reciprocates the message. I don't know that I have ever felt so sure about something.

He gently lays me down on the bed, positioning himself on top of me. I feel him slide himself into me and butterflies erupt in the core of my body. I can't imagine having this feeling with anyone else.

* * *

I finish getting ready after I was interrupted in the shower and head into the kitchen to cook breakfast. The day has started off better than I could have even imagined. Tobias is lying on the couch, staring at me longingly while I start to cook an Abnegation and Dauntless style breakfast; scrambled eggs and toast, the best of both factions. I see a smile spread across his face as I begin to make eggs and I know he is so excited to have a little taste of childhood.

"Tris, you are the most amazing woman I could have ever imagined being with. I was so sure you hated me, until I was sure that you didn't," he chuckles. "I'm so glad that we climbed the ferris wheel together. That was the moment I know we both realized that this was fate. And look at us now." I respond simply with a smile, for I know he understands that I feel the exact same way about him.

The rest of our day goes so smoothly and perfectly, nothing too exciting happening. Just enjoying each other's company and relaxing away from the rowdy people we call our friends. I know that even though we are stuck in the compound, he is so happy with being able to have such a wonderful birthday with me.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Tease

**Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Things are finally getting going in this story. Sorry it took so long for an update, but I hope everyone thoroughly enjoys this one as much as I do!**

* * *

Chapter 5

_Tobias_

* * *

I wake up this morning snuggled up with Tris. I'm still so frustrated and angry with her for not allowing Caleb to sacrifice himself for all of us and more specifically for her. I can't lie here any longer or I'll go crazy thinking about all of this.

I go into the kitchen to start cooking some breakfast. It's all I can do to keep my mind off of everything that's supposed to be going on today. Cara, George and Amar are planned to come back from Minneapolis sometime today, since they never arrived last night, and let us know what was decided there. So of course that means that I am going to have to go meet with Harrison and have a Dauntless leader meeting. And I've got to talk to Tris about all of this Caleb bullshit. I am so stressed out.

"Good morning, love. Whatcha cooking?" Tris asks me playfully.

I'm not in the mood for her this morning though, so I brusquely say, "Eggs."

I can tell that she isn't amused, but she gets the hint and heads to the bathroom to clean up and get ready for the day. When she comes out, she looks stunning in a little black dress. Her hair is flowing in waves and I can tell that she is just trying to improve my mood, even by the slightest. I can't lie to myself, though; it's working.

"Tris, I need to talk to you. Something has really been bothering me," I say soft and shyly. The look on her face says everything I wish it wouldn't; "I told you so" is all I see.

"What's up, love? You were tossing and turning all night, I was just waiting for you to feel ready to tell me what's going on," she says in an understanding tone as she comes up behind me at the stove and wraps her arms around my waist. I really couldn't ask for a better girlfriend. Even when she knows I'm upset, possibly with her, she still manages to show me affection.

"It bothers me that you sacrificed yourself for Caleb. I feel like, even though you told him that you didn't want to leave me, the fact of the matter is, you still did. You were willing to leave me so that he could live. I just don't get it. You told me back in Erudite that you had no family left and I told you I was your family now, but you still were willing to leave me, knowing how devastated I would be, to save him. I really just don't get it. I feel like I don't even know you anymore." I turn around in her arms as I talk. I speak so quickly and in such a frustrated tone, I see any happiness fall from her face as I keep talking. I feel my emotions boiling over. My eyes begin to become glassy.

"Tobias, I listened to what you told me about what the Abnegation say about sacrifice. You told me that the ultimate love _is_ sacrifice. When the moment came, he told me he was only doing it to relieve himself of guilt. So, I sacrificed myself for him. Out of love," as she spoke, tears fell down her cheeks, causing her eyeliner to run down her face and streaks of black to appear.

"Tris, you told me that you had already mourned him and you felt like he had already died. Why would you still sacrifice yourself for him and be so willing and ready to punish me, just to prove your love for him?" I scream at her. I don't mean to get so angry, but I can't help it. Of all the stupid things she could have done, this was by far the worst of all. Even though I can see her breaking down in front of me, I can't help myself from continuing, "I felt like we were everything to each other. We were friends, lovers, and family. And you were still okay leaving me for that piece of shit, Tris! How can I ever trust you or our relationship ever again?"

By this point, I'm surprised I can manage to understand anything she is saying. I've never seen Tris break down like this before. This is our worst fight so far. But I couldn't live with myself, or her for that matter, if I didn't bring this up soon.

"To-b-b-ias, I-I didn-n't mean t-to hurt y-you," she manages to sputter out. Before she can continue, I wrap her in my arms and let her bury her head in my shoulder and together, we sob.

After a good five minutes or so, she finally calms down enough to finish explaining. "I honestly thought you would be proud of me for being so selfless and forgiving and brave. I knew you would be devastated, but I thought that my sacrifice and courage would make you proud of me. I was Abnegation and Dauntless at the same time," she explains.

"I understand where you're coming from. But this will be hard for me to get over."

"Can you just please forgive me, Tobias?" she pleads. I can see the desperation and love in her eyes, and I know I can't stay mad at her for much longer. She is the only person who can make my ice-cold heart melt.

"Yes, hun, of course. But only if you let me have my way with you before I go to my meeting," I tease. I know it sounds horrible, but I have to get something good out of this fight.

"Oh, fine," she laughs as she sighs.

I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my torso and her arms around my neck. I slip my hand up her dress and run my palm up and down her back. Her skin is so soft and smooth; I want nothing else but to be with her forever, no matter what obstacles we have to overcome.

I lay her down on the bed and we share passionate kisses. I hear moans escaping her mouth as we kiss. I slowly start slipping her dress up her body, but as I do so, someone bangs on our front door rather obnoxiously. Fuck my life.

"Zeke, what the hell do you want? I'm kinda busy here, man." I shout irritably at my best friend.

"Sorry, dude. You know me; I'm all for you getting it in, but Cara, George and Amar just got back. They want to meet with you and Harrison immediately," he explains.

"Oh, okay. Tell them to give me 10 minutes. I'll be right there. Let me just clean up," I explain with a glimmer of disappointment and a sliver of excitement.

As I walk back into the bedroom, I see the disappointment on Tris' face. "Sorry, love. Maybe later," I say solemnly.

"It's okay. This is a big moment for everyone. It's the beginning of our future, whatever it may be."

* * *

I rush over to our meeting room to hear the news. When I walk inside, I notice the enormous smile on Cara's face. Thank god. This has to be good news.

"Well if Cara's grin is any indication, I'm guessing that we're moving back to the city with some new neighbors?" I inquire. Everyone chuckles a little and Amar and George nod. "What are their terms, tell me everything that happened, starting from the moment you got there."

"Well," Amar begins, "they were pretty shocked initially, but were very understanding. We played them Amanda Ritter's tape to show them that we weren't making anything up. We also told them that her ancestor, Tris Prior, was still alive and a member of Dauntless. We told them that Tris wanted to continue to live in the city, as do the majority of our residents. Most people cheered at the explanation of merging our cities. There was a group of people, though, who clearly didn't want to be in factions anymore and wanted to move on. They all agreed to go to Milwaukee with the rest of our residents who wish to do the same.

"The residents of Minneapolis have a lot of camaraderie with their factions. They embody "faction before blood". They do have a set of conditions that we must meet in order for them to come here, and on behalf of you all, we agreed to them," Amar says with a hint of hesitation. He immediately looks at me to see my reaction, which, surprising to both of us, is rather calm and collected.

"They do not want to have anymore factionless. In addition, they have what I think is a great idea of a new "government"," he says sounding a little more excited than I would expect. "They want to make it so that if any faction's leader gets too dictator-like or begins making decisions that the rest of the city doesn't agree with, we can impeach them. So, in order to do that, the Minneapolis residents would like to implement a system in which if three factions all agree to remove a leader of another faction from office, that leader will be overthrown.

"They would also like to destroy the death serum and memory serum and get rid of any simulation serums that are used for anything except Choosing and initiations," he finishes. "I told them that we agree to the terms and they are excited to be joining us within a week. They will pack up their belongings and supplies and bring as much as possible to Chicago. That means that we're moving back in guys!" Amar says with giddiness to his voice that I have never heard from him before.

"I am glad that all three of you made it there and back safely, but I am even more glad that you made such wonderful agreements on our behalf. Let's plan on packing everything up for the rest of the day and we will travel back to our homes in the city tomorrow and start a new chapter of our lives." I have an endearing smile on my face that I don't think will ever come off entirely. We get to move back to our homes in Dauntless. And, on top of that, now that I'm a leader, Tris and I will get an amazing apartment in the Pire. There's not much else I could ask for right now.

* * *

I hurry back to our apartment and find Tris still lying in bed where I left her. She is sleeping peacefully and she looks beautiful, even though there are still streaks of black on her cheeks.

I carefully slide into bed behind her, pulling her body close to mine. She sighs a little as my warmth begins to radiate through her. I run my hand upon her thigh, making my way up her dress again.

"Hello there stranger," she says with a smitten grin on her face. "Trying to take advantage of me while I sleep?"

"Not this time, unfortunately. I just wanted to wake you up gently before I told you the news."

She almost instantaneously sits up straight. "Oh? What happened? What's going on?" She asks with rapid succession.

"We're moving back home," I say with one of the happiest smiles I think I've ever had.

* * *

We spent the rest of the day packing together. I let Harrison, along with Cara, Amar, and George, tell the other residents the great news so that I can spend some quality time with my phenomenally amazing girlfriend. There is going to be a lot of change, expected and unexpected, over the next month or so, but it's nothing we can't handle. If anything, I think we're looking forward to it.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Return

Chapter 6

_Tris_

* * *

Its finally time. I've been waiting for to move back into the city for a while and I can't believe that Tobias and I will finally get to live a normal life – however normal it can be after everything we've been through. We've got all of our things at the Bureau packed up and ready to go and it seems like the rest of the residents here do as well.

Around noontime, we finally start heading back into the city. We, along with the others that still remain in the city, will be cleaning things up. We will empty out houses that are no longer inhabited and try to make the city look nice for when the Minneapolis denizens arrive.

It takes a few days, but when it's all said and done, the city looks the best it has in a few years.

"Are you nervous about today?" I ask Tobias with a little trepidation. Marcus is going to be executed today.

"I don't think so. I'm a little more relieved than anything else. That chapter of my life can finally close and I can move on with you." A grin creeps across his face as he talks.

We moved into a new apartment in the Pire yesterday. It is a gorgeous three bedroom – because we _totally_ need that much space – on the 50th floor of the building. Tobias and I decided to get all new furniture so that it feels more like a fresh start and we don't hold onto anything from the past. I can't lie, it's working. The both of us just exude happiness almost every moment of the day. I'm not sure if it's the fact that things are looking up, or the thought of starting fresh with a bunch of new faces joining us. I am interested to meet all of them but the anticipation is killing us.

"What's going on with your mom? Is she going to choose again?" I inquire, completely unsure of whether or not he will be comfortable talking about Evelyn. In order to abolish the factionless, it was decided that they can all choose a new faction at the Choosing Ceremony.

Tobias has a flustered look on his face and I know the topic of his mother is difficult to talk about. He has so many emotions surrounding her, but he tells me anyways, "She has decided not to rejoin us here in Chicago. She is going to move to Milwaukee and try to live a normal life there. I think it's for the best."

I can see the confliction in his face, "Don't worry, I'm your family, remember? We're all each other needs." I pull him into an embrace and he kisses my forehead. I love it when he does that. It makes me feel so safe in his arms. In a weird way, it makes me feel small and protected by him. Time with Tobias is one of the few moments in life where I don't mind feeling weak.

"I'm getting hungry. Do you want to head down to the cafeteria and have some lunch?" he asks as my face is buried into his chest.

"That sounds good, babe," I say with a smidge of apprehension.

"Babe? Really, Tris?" he asks incredulously.

"I just wanted to test it out. No good?"

"I actually don't mind it, muffin," he teases.

"Muffin? Really, Tobias?" I say as I give him a joking punch on the arm. "I'm just joking, I like it." A smile spreads across my face.

After a quick hug and kiss, we make our way down to the cafeteria.

* * *

When we arrive, all our friends are there. Christina, Zeke, Uriah, Lauren, Shauna, and Peter, who is pretty awesome ever since his memory was wiped, all wait at a table for us. Cara is back in Erudite, though I know she isn't too happy about it. We really bonded with her.

"Hey guys!" I say excitedly as I take my seat. It's been so long since we've had the opportunity to have a meal like this, it brings back a lot of old memories.

"It's nice to be able to enjoy each other's company like this again, huh?" Zeke interjects. He and Shauna, though it seemed like they might have a thing, have established that there is definitely no feelings there.

"Man, I can't tell you how much I've missed Dauntless cake," Tobias gets out through a mouthful of chocolaty goodness.

"What do you think the new residents are going to be like?" Christina asks, asking the question we've all been skirting around for days.

"I hope there's a really hot girl. Like, really hot," Zeke states, rather bluntly. Uriah nods in agreement, his mouth too full to respond verbally.

"I just hope that there's no crazies again. I just want to live a semi-peaceful life and enjoy what it has to offer. I feel like we've been through enough hard times to last a lifetime," I add.

"Four, what are we doing about a third leader? I mean, since what happened with Tori and all, we need to replace her," Uriah gravely asks.

"Well, Harrison's first instinct was to ask Tris, but she already said no. And besides, we want to try to include the new residents as much as possible. So, we decided that when they arrive, they will be allowed to elect one person into leadership to lead with me and Harrison. That way, it's a little more fair than if all of the leaders were from Chicago Dauntless."

"That's a really good idea. And pretty wise, quite honestly," Christina says.

We continue theorizing about the Minneapolis residents for the rest of lunch. Uriah and Zeke come up with the craziest ideas, of course.

* * *

When Tobias and I get back to our apartment after lunch, I have a whole list of questions buzzing around in my head. My Erudite must be showing, because he can see the inquisitive look on my face.

"What are you thinking, muffin?" he asks, using his new favorite nickname for me.

"Well, I'm curious. Have you guys figured out how and when to do the aptitude test and Choosing Ceremony for the new group of 16 year olds and the factionless who are rechoosing?" I ask hesitantly. I know he hates going into details with me, but curiosity has gotten the better of me today.

"Yeah, we did, kind of. We met up with Johanna, Jack Kang, Susan and Cara and figured out how most of that is going to work out. The normal Choosing and aptitude dates are still a few months away, so we're going to keep them the same; still at the beginning of July. It's going to work just like always. There's no real need to change it. The only real difference will be the factionless rechoosing and the fact that no one can be kicked out of their faction anymore. Instead, if you commit a crime that used to be worthy of being kicked out, you will either be executed or sent to prison. We decided, with Jack's permission, to set up a prison on one of the floors of the Merciless Mart," Tobias explains in his most "Four"-demeanor possible. He has a hard time talking to me as a teacher now that we have been together so long and have gone through so much.

"Oh," I say nodding my head in understanding. "I think that's a wonderful solution. It's almost better than having factionless."

"The Abnegation are still going to run the aptitude tests with two Dauntless testing the Abnegations. It should run pretty seamlessly," he says matter-of-factly.

"I like it when you act all leader-like and in charge," I say with a sly tone to my voice.

I move myself up against his hard, muscular body and run my hand up the back of his shirt. We lock our lips together and I grasp at his muscles as I work my way up and down his back, passionately kissing him in the process. We haven't had much alone time since the war started, but whenever we have, we've most definitely made the most of it. This time is no different.

* * *

**Author's Note: The action is just around the corner! (Multiple puns and allusions FULLY intended!) I got a few reviews and PMs since I posted the last chapter and I _really_ appreciate them! They are such great motivation to keep writing! That's part of the reason it only took me 24 hours to get this chapter up to you all. I've got the next 10-11 chapters outlined already and there is SO much to come. I hope you stick around with me to find out where our story is going!**

**I appreciate all of the support and comments more than you can ever know!**


	7. Chapter 7 - The Newbies

**Author's Note: I got some wonderful feedback since the last chapter went out. I've decided that I will be updating twice OR three times a week. Sunday/Monday, (maybe) Wednesday, and Thursday/Friday. It all depends on my schedule and how much time I have to write.**

**I appreciate everything you all have to say and the support! Thank to so much and please keep reviewing and PM'ing so I can write a story that you want to read.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

_Tris_

* * *

I feel heavy, warm arms wrapped around me and a distinct smell that I know belongs to my wonderful boyfriend, wafting at me. I wriggle my way around so that I am facing Tobias and whisper, "Good morning."

He moans slightly and peeks open his right eye. "Well, good morning, muffin," he says with a raspy voice. A smile creeps across his face, which I reciprocate.

"Do you have any big plans today, babe?" I ask, honestly unsure if he has anything to do since the new residents are supposed to arrive today.

"Nothing until they get here. And I can't say that I'm complaining. Let's just spend some quality time together this morning and enjoy each other's company. We haven't had much of that lately," he says as he runs his fingers through my hair, caressing my face with his other hand.

"Do you wanna jump in the shower with me?" I ask shyly, unsure what his response will be.

I can see the surprise in his face, but he still agrees. "Absolutely, that sounds really nice," he says as he smiles at me coyly.

Once I get in the bathroom, I look at Tobias, who is clearly excited even though he is trying to stifle it to make me more comfortable. I make my way over to him and rise to my tiptoes. I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a passionate kiss.

"Undress me," I whisper at him while our lips mingle together.

He begins to slide my bottoms down with his thumbs, gently sliding over my curves that have miraculously developed over the past few months. As he removes my bottoms, I do the same to him, staring at the bulge, emanating from his boxers.

"I love it when you stare at me with so much desire in your eyes," he says softly, with serious want in his voice. I look into his eyes and give him a quick kiss and proceed to pull his shirt over his head, revealing his toned body. He finds the hem of my shirt, slowly sliding it up my torso. Miraculously, it gets caught on the bottom of my breasts, which have developed immensely as well. This is the first moment I realize how feminine my features have become.

We carefully remove the remainder of our undergarments and Tobias slowly caresses my body. The way he gently touches me forces butterflies to erupt from my center.

"Let's jump in," I say with a teasing tone.

We make our way into the warm stream of water, caressing each other's features in a way that we haven't really done before.

"Can I tell you something?" Tobias asks hesitantly. I nod as I gaze into his beautiful, deep blue eyes. "I mean this is the most wonderful way possible. I've always thought you were the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, but in the past couple months your body has changed so much. Instead of seeing you as the most beautiful girl, I see you as the most beautiful woman."

I continue to gaze into his eyes, but I suddenly feel tears well up in my eyes. Happy tears.

"Oh, Tris, I didn't mean to upset you!" Tobias says quickly, clearly afraid.

"I'm not upset at all. It means so much to me that you can say something so honest and sweet. I love you," I whisper through the tears.

Tobias grips me behind my neck and pulls me up to his lips, kissing me with a fiery passion. "I love you, too," he says quietly and breathlessly through our kisses.

* * *

Once we finish getting ready for the day, we make our way down to the cafeteria for some lunch. As usual, our friends are already sitting at a table together. We grab some food and head on over to where Zeke saved us two spots on his left.

"Well, you two have interesting smirks this afternoon," Christina says candidly. Tobias and I both instantly blush a little bit. Even though we didn't have sex this morning, we always smile and feel so incredibly happy when we have some private, intimate moments together.

"Shut up, Candor," Tobias teases her, bringing up her least favorite insult nowadays.

A young boy that Tobias seems to recognize runs up to Harrison and whispers something in his ear.

"Who's he?" I ask.

"One of the Control Room worker's kids," he says matter-of-factly.

Harrison's eyes widen and he whispers something back to the boy before he stands up. "Excuse me everyone," he announces loudly over the rumble of voices in the cafeteria. Everyone quiets down rather quickly, and he continues, "It appears that the new residents have just entered the city. The ambassadors are taking everyone to their respective factions as we speak. Our new Dauntless members will be here shortly. Let us prepare a welcome for their arrival. We will have a party in the Pit. They will be arriving via the back entrance."

I look around at everyone at the table and we all have a fire behind our eyes. It's time for the beginning of a new chapter here in Dauntless.

We finish up our lunches and make our way over to the Pit. So much of the faction is already here, but it's still only about half full. There are coolers of alcohol and kegs everywhere. A true Dauntless welcome. I wouldn't expect anything less.

We mingle for what seems like a few hours, but must only been about thirty minutes before we hear the announcement. "Alright everyone. Four! You're calling them out. Tris, I want you to help him," Harrison yells out to everyone.

Harrison walks over towards me. "I have to have you help him because he is totally inept when you're in the same room as him, but not next to him," Harrison whispers in my ear as I make my way over to the net. "All he does is stare at you from across the room. It's a little sickening," he jokes.

We look up to see a few faces peering down at us. They can't see us down here in the Pit, but we can vaguely see them. A black blob begins to fall down with long chestnut colored hair flying in the breeze. She bounces up on the net and Tobias pulls it down to help her roll off towards us.

He lends her a hand and she stands up, her luscious hair fallen in front of her face. She flips it back with her hand and to reveal porcelain-like skin that is a beautiful ivory color and striking green eyes, the color of the Amity orchard trees.

"What's your name?" Tobias asks.

"Emily."

"First jumper, Emily!" he shouts to everyone in the Pit. The Dauntless shout and stomp their feet in welcome.

She stands about five inches taller than my 62-inch frame.

"You can wait here for the rest and then we will take you all on a tour," I announce to her over the ruckus that erupted in the Pit.

About 250 new Dauntless arrive, most making the jump down into the Pit while some opted to walk around to the front entrance for sake of time. For some reason, we never expected this many, but their presence is more than welcome. We lost so many in the war, but now we've gained even more than we lost. We let everyone mingle and drink for a while before Zeke and Lauren take about half of them on a tour while Tobias and I take the rest.

"Hey everyone, my name is Four, and this here is Tris. We're going to show you around and get you guys settled into your new homes. After the tour though, we're going to have dinner in the cafeteria and we need you all to vote and select a new leader to join Harrison and myself. We agreed that it is most fair to have someone represent you all as part of the Dauntless leadership team." Most of them start whispering to each other, clearly surprised at this announcement.

"Okay, let's begin!" I announce.

* * *

It takes us about an hour to show them around the place, but when we're done, they all look so happy and excited to be in a new home. They all oo'd and awe'd at the Chasm more than anything else. It's hard to think that even though their city was set up just like ours socially for the experiment, their headquarters must have been so different from ours, maybe not even underground at all.

We end the tour at the cafeteria for dinner. "Do you guys have Dauntless chocolate cake?" Someone shouts out from the crowd.

Tobias chuckles, "Yeah, we sure do. Head on in and take a seat wherever you like. Get to know the other members and make some new friends. We're all one family now."

Tobias and I head to our normal spot by our friends. "How did your guys' tour go?" Tobias asks Zeke and Lauren.

"It was pretty good. When we told them about picking a leader, they all seemed to already know whom they would pick. I think they're going to fit in just fine with us. Almost all of them were in awe of the Chasm. It was kind of funny," Zeke explains with Lauren nodding in agreement, her mouth packed full of mashed potatoes.

"Yeah, same thing for us really. I'm wondering who they're going to pick," Tobias says thoughtfully.

"My money is on that Emily girl," I whisper to Christina with uneasiness in my voice. She nods, understanding exactly where my apprehension is coming from.

After about fifteen minutes, Harrison walks up to our table and taps Tobias on the shoulder.

"I need you to come up front with me so we can ask for nominations for a new leader," he says, somewhat quietly. Together, they make their way up to the front of the cafeteria.

"Excuse me everyone," Tobias says in his most "Four"-voice possible. "As I know we have explained to you all, we need a third leader to join Harrison and I running Dauntless. We still mourn the courageous loss of Tori, but we cannot have an even number of leaders. As such, we decided to have one leader from the Minneapolis group join us, to represent the best interests of everyone," he explains. At that statement, the room explodes with stomping and cheers in true Dauntless fashion. He continues, "Would anyone like to announce a nominee?"

A young man who looks right around my age stands up. "Brody!" he announces and is greeted with a few hoots and stomps.

"Any others?" Harrison inquires.

"Emily!" an older woman shouts. To that, she is greeted with almost the entire room cheering her on.

"Quiet please!" Tobias says after a good minute or so. "Are we decided on Emily then, or are there any other nominees?" He is greeted with silence. "Emily, please come on up."

She makes her way, confidently, to the front of the cafeteria.

"Emily, do you accept your nomination as third leader of Dauntless?" Harrison asks her, apprehensively.

"I absolutely do! I am elated that my fellow Dauntless from Minneapolis feel so confident about electing me to lead us and you all. I will not let any of you down!" She says, exuding confidence and beauty.

After dinner, we start showing the Minneapolis Dauntless their new apartments. The factionless helped move everyone's things into the new apartments while we were touring and eating. They will be helping out, and housed, all over the city until they are able to rechoose in a couple months.

As a leader, Emily gets the apartment across the hall from Tobias and I. The way she looks at him just irks me. She constantly bats her eyelashes and looks at him with lust. And now she's my fucking neighbor.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Harrison, Tobias and Emily have so many leader meetings that I'm starting to feel like it's more for fun and bonding time than actually accomplishing anything.

Today, they've been in a meeting for almost six hours. I ate lunch and dinner alone and now I'm sick of waiting and decide to just jump in bed by myself.

"Muffin?" I hear Tobias shout quietly a few minutes later.

"I'm in here," I say monotonously from the bedroom. I don't even want to talk to him at this point. He hasn't even been making time for me.

He walks in the room and flashes me an adoring smile. All that does is piss me off even more. I roll over so that I am facing away from him. I can hear him go into the bathroom and brush his teeth. Next thing I know, he is climbing into bed, wrapping his muscular, warm arms around my body and kissing me behind my ear.

"That's not making up for any of this. I hope you know that," I say with a spiteful tone to my voice, hoping he finally realizes how frustrated I am.

He rolls me over so that I am facing him and cups my face in between his hands. "Tris, you can't be mad at me for this. You knew what I signed up for when I took the leadership position. This shouldn't be coming as any surprise to you. We just had over two hundred and fifty people join Dauntless. This isn't like a normal initiation process where we gain fifteen or so members. There are a lot of kinks to work out and we have to talk to Emily and make sure we understand how the Minneapolis Dauntless ran their faction and accommodate them," he says sincerely.

"Yeah, well, for all I know, she's just dragging this out and dragging you along so she can try to win you over and get your dick. I see the way she looks at you. I'm not stupid," I argue.

"Seriously, Tris? I don't care what she does or says, but the fact that you think I would give in to that and leave you for her just baffles my mind. You've barely spoken to me for the past few weeks, we hardly get any time together lately and then you don't even make the most of it when we do have time together," He retorts. "Just like right now. Instead of having some intimate time and enjoying each other, you're picking a fight with me. Over what? Some girl who got voted by her people to lead them and now I'm forced to spend time with her? Seriously, Beatrice?" He says quickly and angrily.

"Yes, _Tobias._ Seriously," I declare, losing my patience. "You know," I continue, "maybe we need some time apart so that you can appreciate what you've got. Or maybe, we just need to be done because you obviously don't even attempt to make time for me or my feelings. I do have them, you know."

"Fine then Tris, we're done. Go cry to your friends and tell them all the mean things I've done to you," he retorts, emotions clearly getting the better of both of us.

"Fine," I say, with tears welling up in my eyes. I don't want this, and I don't want to leave, but maybe it's what he needs to realize how he's treating me. I get out of bed and head out the door, unsure of where to go.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Repercussions

**Author's Note: To those of you who celebrate, Happy Easter! **

**A couple things to start out. **

**1) I edited some of the earlier chapters (mainly Chapter 3, thanks Tris-Prior4and6 for noticing my ineptitude) to work out some plot holes and fix a few mistakes that I found. There was no MAJOR changes to the storyline.**

**2) When I post Chapter 9, the rating of this fic will change to M. Chapter 9 is super _ smutty. _At that point, it will no longer show up in normal Fic searches, so Favorite and Follow so you can easily keep up with the story if you want.**

**3) In this chapter, you will notice that I switch POV's halfway through. I will RARELY, if ever, do this again. It was simply for the story's sake and not having 2 ridiculously short chapters.**

**4) THANK YOU! Your support means everything to me and is the only reason I am still writing this story. Please keep reviewing, favoriting, following, and PM'ing me. It really motivates me to keep writing and updating frequently. This story would not be what it was if it weren't for you all! (Special thanks to ****SocialisesWithBooks for a few tips to help me out!)**

* * *

Chapter 8

_Tris_

* * *

I walk fast and mindlessly for a few minutes and find myself pounding on a door. It must be 2 o'clock in the morning or so. I keep pounding, tears slowly creeping themselves into my eyes. I was so pumped up on adrenaline and now that I'm standing here, knocking endlessly, I can't help but think about what just happened. The worst part of this is that Tobias didn't even try to stop me. He barely even denied it.

Now that I'm sobbing and the collar of my shirt is soaked, the door finally opens.

"Oh god, Tris. What happened?" Uriah says melancholically, seeing the sadness dripping down my face.

I start shaking my head while a seemingly endless flow of tears continue to fall. I can feel my eyes turning red and puffing up. I make my way over to the couch, still with hot trails making their way down my face. I know I sound like a blubbering idiot, but Uriah says nothing and just wraps his arms around me, allowing me to bury my face in his shoulder.

It seems like a I've been soaking Uriah's bare chest with tears few hours, but it's probably only been thirty minutes or so. I look up at him, sadness radiating from my eyes, I'm sure.

"Tris, I'm here for you. Stay here as long as you need," Uriah says graciously.

I look up at him, eyes swollen and somber; our eyes lock. I sense him leaning towards me, just the slightest. Something inside of me encourages me forwards. Instantly, Uriah and I are locked in an intense and passionate kiss.

His hands work his way from holding the back of my head and neck to the hem of my shirt and they slowly begin to work it off of my body. At this point, our bare torsos are exposed. His right hand grips my breast. Something in my head is telling me to stop, but I don't.

I drape my arms around his neck and he stands up with me, my legs wrapped around his waist. He makes his way to the bedroom and gently lays me on the mattress, all the while still kissing. Uriah works my bottoms off and then pulls down his boxers quickly and intensely.

"Tris," he whispers between kisses.

"Yeah," I say breathlessly.

"Are we naked in bed together right now because you want to do this with me or because you're upset with Four?" he asks in a way only a true friend would.

"I really do love him, but right now I don't think he loves me anymore," I manage to sputter out, tears beginning to well up in my eyes again. With a frog in my throat, I continue, "I'm pretty sure he has a thing for Emily."

Uriah looks at me, a tinge of disappointment in his eyes. He nods understandingly and gets up to go grab one of his t-shirts out of his dresser. He also picks up my panties on the way and allows me to wear his shirt so that I don't have to wear my wet pajamas.

"You know I care about you. You're one of the best transfers I've ever met and I knew when I met you that you were someone I would have a lifelong friendship with. We've both narrowly evaded death and that has definitely brought us closer, but you love Four. You two are meant to be. I'm always here for you whenever you need anything, Tris. Please don't forget that. I'm glad you came here tonight," Uriah explains. He leans down and gives me a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"Get some rest. I'll be on the couch if you need anything, okay?" he says reassuring both of us.

"Okay, thank you for understanding and being here for me. You're an amazing friend."

He walks out of the bedroom, shutting the door gently. As soon as I hear the door shut completely, I burst into tears and cry until I have no energy left and pass out.

* * *

Sometime in the middle of the morning, I hear Uriah come inside. I feel him brush my hair aside and kiss my forehead before I hear the shower start running. I don't know that I could ask for a better, more understanding and caring friend. Christina would have just kept asking questions to find out what happened.

I regret what happened last night, but I'm glad it didn't go any farther. If it was any guy besides Uriah, it might have. I don't know how I'm going to be able to tell this to Tobias, but he has to know if we are going to mend our relationship.

After a few minutes, Uriah comes out of the bathroom; fully clothed I'm sure out of respect for me after what happened last night.

"Morning," he says with a hint of apprehension.

"Good morning," I say flatly.

"I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that. You were emotional and it wasn't fair," he says quickly, looking down at the ground the entire time, somewhat ashamed.

"Oh, Uriah. You don't need to be sorry. I appreciate what you did. I initiated everything and you were wise enough and a good enough friend to me to stop us before anything more happened. Most guys would have kept going, not realized that my emotions were taking over and stopped us. I couldn't ask for a better friend than you, Uriah. Honestly," I say looking him straight in the eyes.

"Are you going to tell Four?" he asks, fear seeping into his voice.

"Yeah, I have to. I have no idea how he will take it. I just hope he understands."

"I just hope he doesn't beat me up," Uriah says with a little chuckle. "You can stay here as long as you need to. There's food in the kitchen, you can have whatever you like. I need to get to work."

At that, he gives me a warm and caring embrace and makes his way out of the apartment. What I decide to do next surprises even me.

* * *

_Tobias_

* * *

We were supposed to have another leadership meeting this morning, but after last night, I can't even think about any of that. Instead, I make my way to the Control Room and find Zeke.

"You know, you can't be late every day and expect to get away with it," Zeke says, his back turned to me, clearly thinking I am his new coworker from Minneapolis. "Oh, Four, what are you doing here?" he says startled as he turns around.

I don't even know where to start, so I just come out and say it. "Tris and I got in a fight last night because she thought I had a thing for Emily, but I don't. I don't even think she's that pretty!" I blurt out rapidly.

"I think she's so fucking hot. But that's beside the point. Why are you so upset about it? It's just a stupid little fight, man."

"But it isn't, Zeke. I didn't tell her I didn't have feelings for Emily, I just told her she was stupid for thinking that I did. And then she said she wanted to take some time apart and I told her we were done and then she left. I have no idea where she went, but she was gone all night and she never came home this morning. I just wanted to give her space. I assumed she would come back. I'm in love with her and I just let her go. How the hell am I supposed to get her back now?"

"Well, this complicates things. She'll come around eventually. You guys are too perfect for each other for her not to come back to you. Just give her time. She's probably at Christina's or something trying to chill out," Zeke explains, trying to calm me down. I wouldn't expect anything less from a Pedrad.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm going to head to my office, I guess, and try to get some work done. It's the only thing I can think of that _might _take my mind off of all of this for a little while," I state.

"Four, just chill out. She loves you. Everyone can see it. She'll come around eventually. Just give her time. She will come to you and then you can tell her everything you're feeling," he says, trying to console me.

* * *

The walk to my office is quicker than usual. Maybe it's because I'm so distracted thinking about my fight with Tris, or maybe it's just because I walk to this office so often, the trip is mindless now. I'm pretty sure it's a combination of the two, though.

I work in my office for a few hours trying to figure out how to do initiation this year when I hear a quiet knock on my door.

"Come in," I say flatly.

The door slowly opens and a face peeks inside. Tris.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Admission

Chapter 9

_Tobias_

* * *

My stomach drops to the floor when I see her beautiful blue eyes filled with sadness and regret.

"Tris," I sigh. "I'm so glad you came." I start, standing up to go give her a hug, and continue, "I was trying to give you some space so you could cool down, but I was so worried when you never came home." I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head.

Her reaction is bleaker than I expected. I know something is wrong, I just don't know what.

"What's wrong? You're acting strange," I state.

"After I left last night, I didn't know where to go. I just knew I needed space. I didn't want to go to Christina's because she would just ask a bunch of questions and I didn't want to talk about it. The only person who I felt comfortable going to was Uriah," she explains. Her face is too conflicted for me not to suspect that something bad happened.

"Okay…" I say, extending the end of the phrase to signal her to continue.

"Well, when I got there, he comforted me and was holding me as I cried into his shoulder. I looked up at him and I don't know why, but I started kissing him. I was so mad at you and so upset that I needed to try to forget about it all, and for some reason, that's when I did it; I kissed him. Next thing I knew, we both ended up naked in his bed," she says with hot, fat tears beginning to drip down her face.

I'm at a loss for words. I hang my head before holding it in my hands near my knees. "Did you guys have sex?" is all I can manage to spit out at this point.

"No," she says, violently shaking her head, now really crying. I'm relieved, but so angry with myself for letting this happen. We stare at each other for a good minute or so. Then she manages to speak again, "You broke up with me."

"Tris, we were just fighting. We didn't _really_ break up," I say, frustration boiling up inside of me. She buries her face in her palms and starts shaking as she sobs uncontrollably.

"Come here, muffin," I say gently as I wrap my arms around her and pull her into my body, tucking her head into my shoulder. As I kiss the top of her head, I remind her, "I love you more than anyone or anything in the world and I never want to lose you. I'm sorry I told you it was over, I never should have said that. Don't blame yourself for this; it's my fault. I really do love you."

"I love you, too," she says through the tears. "Can we go home and cuddle?"

"Of course. Work can wait for later. We are all that's important to me right now," I say as affectionately as possible.

* * *

We make our way back to the apartment. The walk seems to take an eternity, mostly because Tris nor I spoke the entire way. Once we shut the door, she turns to face me.

"Look, I'm sorry. I feel so ashamed," she says, staring at her hands as she fiddles her thumbs.

"Don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you leave like that or said those things to you. I love you," I say wrapping my hands in her hair and holding her head against my chest.

"I love you more, Tobias," she says, gazing into my eyes.

I wrap my arms around her waist as she puts hers around mine. I find her lips and begin to kiss her gently. I find the bottom of her shirt and slide one of my hands inside and up her back, caressing her all the while. The passion of our kisses intensifies, which leads me to slowly slide her shirt up over the hills and valleys of her body. She emits a gentle moan that encourages me to continue. She helps me pull her shirt over her head and then throws it across the room. I reach behind her back once more and unhook her bra, revealing her beautiful breasts. Her bra joins her top on the other side of the room.

I marvel at her beautiful curves for a moment before I whisper in her ear, "You're absolutely stunning." I can hear a soft giggle emanate from her mouth.

"You're pretty handsome yourself," she retorts.

"Take off your pants," I say breathlessly as I begin to remove my own. She complies without any hesitation.

I pick her up and she wraps herself around my body. I carry her to the bedroom, showering her neck and collarbone with kisses the entire way, making sure to stop at my favorite spot on her tattoo.

I gently place her on the bed and position myself on top of her. I start kissing her body, starting at her forehead and working my way down. I kiss her cheeks and the tip of her nose, at which she lets out a cute laugh. I kiss her neck before planting one on her sternum. I make my way over to her nipple, gently sucking on it; forcing it to harden upon the touch of my tongue.

"Oh, Tobias!" she moans almost whining. "Stop teasing me. But don't stop, I love it."

I love it when she encourages me. I make my way to her other nipple and do the same before working my way down to her belly. She has gotten so muscular, but she still maintains such a feminine physique. Her stomach is toned, but not too defined. I make my way down and kiss her protruding hipbone near her pelvis.

I continue working my way down, kissing her thighs. As I do so, I gently part her with my fingers, feeling her wetness engulf two of them. I notice her tense a little and she grips my shoulder with one of her hands, squeezing tightly. I work my mouth back up to hers and give her a long, passionate kiss, leaving my fingers inside of her. It wasn't too long ago that she still had her fear of intimacy and this moment would have never happened this way.

I desire more out of this. So, I straddle one of her legs and glide my body upwards on it, allowing her to feel every inch of me. She moans a little, which I take as an invitation to enter.

I run my tip against her to wet myself so that I can slide in a little easier. I guide her as I slowly ease in, hearing a little gasp escape her mouth as I do so. I gaze into her eyes and see them burn with desire and want.

"I love you," she whimpers in pleasure.

I give her a quick kiss before I reciprocate, "I love you more."

I thrust into her slowly at first, gradually speeding up, our hips pounding into each other. I pull myself out and her face looks almost disappointed.

"Get on your hands and knees," I demand. She looks a little surprised, almost apprehensive, but she complies anyways.

I reenter her and at that moment, she moans louder than I've ever heard her before. I slowly thrust into her, trying to be gentle.

"Babe, you're so deep. It feels so good," she practically pants out.

By this time, we're both drenched in sweat, sliding into each other. I let out a breathy explicative before I begin to surge into her faster and faster.

Tris lets out an exhausted squeal, occasionally yelling my name between words I've rarely heard her ever use.

"Oh my god, Tobias!" she encourages. Suddenly, I hear her let out her breath and her legs start to shake. Her back arches and I spill into her, subsequently rolling over onto my back and pulling her next to me, resting on my chest as we both breathe heavily.

"That was…" she pauses.

"Amazing," I finish.

"More than amazing." She manages to lift herself up, just a bit, to lean over and give me a quick kiss.

"If this is what happens after every fight, can we please fight more often? Just without the part that happened directly after the fight," I tease.

"Hey, I wouldn't complain!" she jokingly agrees.

I give her a kiss on top of her head and say, "How about we just don't fight and keep this up. I enjoyed myself almost a little too much. But I more so enjoyed listening to you and feeling you." I look down at her and give her a smirk.

"Let's have lunch and then we can try this again later," she says with a wink as she lifts herself out of bed and makes her way to the bathroom to shower.

* * *

We make our way down to the cafeteria after we cleaned ourselves up and find our normal table. Uriah is there, which might be a little awkward for Tris and me, but I've known him long enough; I'm not too concerned about it.

He looks at me with a sense of failure in his eyes; like he thinks I am disappointed in him.

"Uriah, can I talk to you for a minute?" I say quietly so that the whole table doesn't overhear. We walk just outside the cafeteria to talk.

"Four, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for anything to happen. I don't even have feelings for her. I look at her as more of a sister than anything else. You're like another big brother to me. I don't know how I could ever do something like that to you. I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, shut up," I say, rolling my eyes. I pat him on the back and continue, "Look, I'm pissed that she was so upset that her emotions enabled her to do something like that, but I am by no means mad at you or her. Shit happens, just don't ever let it happen again. I love you and I know you didn't mean any harm," I explain.

A look of serious relief crosses Uriah's face. "You're a scary guy, Four. But man, there's no one else I would call a better friend than you."

When Uriah and I get back to our table, Christina has a look on her face, and I know it means trouble.

"That's an interesting smirk on your face there Four. And Tris sure looks relaxed this afternoon," she teases.

"Shut it, Candor," I say in my most threatening tone possible.

"It doesn't take a Candor to know that you two had sex," Shauna states matter-of-factly, shaking her head a little.

"Okay, okay. Fine. We had mind-blowingly awesome sex this morning after we made up from the argument we had last night. Now shut up and leave us alone. We're just another couple. You all do it too," I state in a menacing tone. They all start talking at once.

I turn and look at Tris, who looks slightly mortified, and grab her behind the head and neck with my hands and make out with her in front of all of our friends. Instantly, I hear them all go silent and when I break away from Tris' lips and look at them, they are all staring at us in awe, silent and mouths gaping open.

"Hot damn," Zeke says, his eyes wide and surprised.

None of the others have the courage to say much of anything else. That's a good sign.

After lunch, Tris and I make our way back to the apartment. After we get inside and shut the door, I look straight at her. My face perplexed.

"Tris, I don't ever want to fight like that again. That was horrible. And it was stupid. I will never have feelings for anyone besides you; don't ever forget that," I say, never losing her eyes.

"I agree."

"Really?" I state with a little chuckle. "After I so eloquently came up with those words on our entire walk back to the apartment, all you have to say is "I agree"?" I plant my face in my palms and shake my head as I laugh a little.

Tris simply shrugs her shoulders and says, "Well I couldn't have said it any better, babe."

"So, what are our plans for tomorrow?" I ask.

I can see the surprise on her face. She must be confused at how I know. As far as Tris is aware, Christina is the only one who knows.

"I don't know, why do you ask?" she questions, trying to keep her cool and act like there's nothing special tomorrow.

"Just wondering. I'm going to make plans for us since you don't have any." She looks paranoid and confused. But she'll find out everything tomorrow.

* * *

**Author's Note: I really hope you guys like this chapter and the bit of smut. Thank you guys sooo much for the support. Your reviews are so incredibly motivating. Please keep them coming! **

**On another note, I am looking hard for a Beta. If anyone is interested, PM me and I'll tell you what I am looking for specifically and we can see if we are a match! Thanks again for everything, you guys are AMAZING!**

**FYI: Next update will be Friday evening :)**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Gratification

Chapter 10

_Tobias_

* * *

I wake up this morning startled and breathing heavy. I had a dream, no, a nightmare, last night that Tris was pregnant. Luckily, she's been using contraceptives for a few months now, so there's nothing to worry about. But it felt so real in my dream that it woke me up in a panic.

I better forget about it fast though, because today is a big day. I've been planning this day out for a few weeks now and I've got to make sure it goes perfectly to that plan.

After I slow my breathing down to normal, I cuddle up behind Tris, spooning my body into hers. She starts to stir a little and I hear her groan. She's never been much of a morning person.

"Tobias, leave me alone, I'm not in the mood," she grunts grumpily.

"I have a nice day planned for us, I don't want you sleeping it away." I gently start stroking her hair, occasionally giving her a peck on the back of her head.

"Just a little longer, then I'm all yours," she bargains.

"Okay, hun. Another hour," I say quietly and with an endearing tone.

We lie there, cuddled together for another hour. I hear her sleeping peacefully, her breaths deep and slow. I doze in and out of consciousness, but never fully fall back asleep.

I start getting out of bed, knowing that my stir will wake her.

"It's been an hour already?" she asks incredulously.

"Yeah, it has. It's almost eleven already. You need to get up anyways," I state bluntly. If she doesn't get going soon, the whole day is going to be ruined.

"Go shower and get ready. I'm faster, so I'll go after you," I tell her.

"Someone is a little demanding this morning," she states with a hint of frustration in her voice.

While Tris is in the shower, I go out into the living room and start getting things ready for her. After about twenty minutes, she finally comes out in her robe to find coffee, I'm sure. Her bare legs peek out underneath her robe and I can't help but lust a little at the fact that she has nothing on underneath there. But instead of spending all morning lusting, I've got some presents waiting for her that I want her to see.

"Happy Birthday, muffin!" I shout at her. Her face sinks a little; she almost looks pissed off.

"I was hoping you didn't know. I don't want you to make a big fuss over me," she says nonchalantly. I can tell she does like it a little bit though.

"It's a big day. You're seventeen now. I wanted to make sure it was special for you." I hold out her first present, waiting for her to come grab it.

She finally rolls her eyes and puts a smile on her face and comes to take it from me. As she unwraps it, I see the perplexity in her face.

She ends up unwrapping a small white box, which she then opens. Inside, I know what she will find, but as she lifts the top, her eyes widen in surprise and amazement.

"It's gorgeous," she says incredulously. "Can you help me put it on?" It is a dainty necklace with a pendant that is a circle of diamonds.

I give her a hug and quick kiss before I help her fasten it around her neck.

"Do you know why I chose this specific one?" I ask, to which she replies by shaking her head. "I picked one that's a circle because I wanted it to remind you that our relationship has no end. It is eternal like a circle's line. And I chose diamonds because they are hard and last a lifetime. I picked this necklace because it represents our love for each other and our relationship. Happy Birthday," I state as I watch tears well up in her eyes.

"I love it and I love you," she manages to whisper.

"I love you, too. I need to go finish getting ready. If you want, you can cook some breakfast, otherwise we can head down to the cafeteria after I finish," I tell her as I walk back to the bathroom.

By the time I get out of the shower, Tris has made bacon and eggs. A wonderful combination if you're asking me.

"So, what do you have planned for me today?" she asks, clearly curiosity is getting the better of her today.

"Well, most of it is going to be a surprise. But the first thing you're doing is going shopping with Christina. She begged me to let her take you today."

"That actually sounds like fun. When will she be here?"

"Very soon. I told her to come sometime after noon because I knew you would try to sleep in today. And I knew I would let you get away with it," I tell her with a loving smile.

"You know me too well." The corners of her mouth turn up in a smirk as she speaks.

A few minutes after we finish cleaning up breakfast, there's a knock on the door and we both know it's Christina. I let Tris go answer it.

"Happy Birthday!" Christina yells before squeezing Tris into a hug so tight that it might be able to break the bones of an elderly person. "Are you ready to go shopping?" There is a little too much enthusiasm in Christina's voice for me, but Tris is in too good of a mood today and nods eagerly.

* * *

They shop for most of the afternoon. By the time Tris comes home, she has more bags than she can comfortably carry and it's almost five o'clock.

"Did you have fun, muffin?" I ask as I wrap her in my arms and pull her close to my body.

"Yeah, actually. I did," she says giving me quick kisses in rapid succession.

"Are you ready for one of your presents?"

"You actually got me something else?" she asks incredulously.

I pull off my shirt and lift my left arm to show her a tattoo of two T's layered together, puffed with red, still fresh and raw. She lets out a little gasp before bringing her hand to it.

"For us. Tris and Tobias," I state quietly.

"This was the last thing I expected. It's so perfect. It's hidden in a spot that, hopefully, only you and I will be able to see," she states, her eyes deep with emotions.

"And, it's close to my heart."

"These little things are the reasons why I love you."

"They're the reasons I love you too, muffin."

I gently give her a kiss before getting her shopping bags and putting them in our closet.

"We need to head down to dinner. I'm sure everyone is waiting to wish you a Happy Birthday," I explain to her.

To that, she rolls her eyes a little and chuckles, "Okay, fine. Let's go."

"Why are you rolling your eyes? You don't want to go spend time with everyone?"

"Not when you're running around her without a shirt on. I'd choose that over dinner with our friends any day," she says coyly.

I laugh, "Come on."

We head down to the cafeteria, and just as I expected, all of our friends are already waiting at a table for us. Usually, Uriah sits next to Zeke and Tris and I sit on his other side. But today, in Uriah's normal seat is someone I've never seen before.

"Who are you?" I say bluntly.

"Well aren't you just a cup of tea. I'm Brody. I work in the control room with Zeke," he explains. He stands up to shake my hand. He must be about six feet tall. He has rather short brown hair and what looks like a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow.

"Oh, so you were my replacement. Hopefully you can fill my shoes to Zeke's standards. But nice to meet you; I'm Four."

After we shake hands, the three of us take our seats. Everyone's faces look a little tense, but as usual, Zeke breaks the awkward silence.

"Happy Birthday, Trissy! You're growing up so fast. Just yesterday you were only sixteen," he says, wiping a fake tear off his face.

A round of "Happy Birthday"s go around the table. By now, Tris is grinning from ear to ear. I know I've done just enough to make her day special without overwhelming her.

"I hope there aren't any more surprises. I don't think I can handle much more today, babe," Tris says, trying to whisper so that only I can hear.

"Tris, you really think we would let your birthday go by without throwing you a party? We're in Dauntless for goodness sake" Zeke teases.

"Uhh, yes?" she says as though it's a question.

"Well, that's too bad. At seven o'clock, I expect you guys at my apartment. Everyone will be there, so you'd better be too," he says firmly. When exactly Zeke got the balls to stand up to Tris is beyond me, but I don't mind it at a time like this.

* * *

As seven rolls around, I start banging on the bathroom door.

"Tris, you've been in there for an hour. Are you almost done or what?" I shout, getting a little agitated.

When she finally comes out, she has on a little black top, a crop top is what I think they're calling them, and a little sequin mini skirt. Her hair, which has grown out pretty significantly since she cut it, falls in front of her face in flowing waves.

"It is too much?" she asks me hesitantly as she flips her hair back.

"Well, I'd rather no one sees you showing that much skin, but it's your birthday and you look amazing."

A smile seeps across her face.

"C'mon, let's go," I say as I open the front door for her.

It only takes us a few minutes to get down to Zeke's apartment. Once we get there, everyone we could possibly want there is already there with a few extras and unknowns as well.

"Happy Birthday, Tris," Uriah says, clearly sloshed already.

We make the rounds and try to meet some of the new people.

"Four, are you excited about training the new initiates at the end of next month?" Zeke inquires.

"Actually, I kind of am. I'm so sick of all this leadership crap. It'll be a nice change. And I'm excited about the new training set up. It'll be way better."

"I wanted to introduce you to someone, by the way." Zeke turns around and grabs another guy. "This is Mitch. He was an initiate in Minneapolis last year. Lauren and I recruited him to help us train the newbies. He's pretty awesome," he explains. Mitch stands about the same height as me with straight, brown hair. He has a cowlick right in the middle of his hairline that causes a wave. "You and Mitch are going to be responsible for the transfers and Lauren and I will do the Dauntless born, even though we're training them all together this year."

"That sounds great. It's nice to meet you, Mitch. I'm glad you and Lauren worked all of this out. I've been so stressed out at work that there's no way I could have gotten this together the way you guys have. Every time I take a few hours in my office to work out the details, I get distracted by something else."

"We also thought it would be good if Tris oversees the training from afar and helps us rank. That way she can be a little bit of a tiebreaker opinion," Zeke states, unsure of what my reaction will be.

"I think that's a great idea." I scan the room looking for her. She disappeared from my side a good ten or fifteen minutes ago. I finally find her with my eyes, hanging out with Christina. She looks so happy.

Both of us enjoy the rest of the night, spending time with our friends, new and old.

After spending hours mingling, drinking, and laughing, we head up to our apartment and sleep soundly for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys. This chapter is not one of my favorites, but the next one is :)**

**Please help me out and leave some reviews or PMs with your thoughts and comments. Let me know what you like and what you hate. I write this story because I enjoy it, but I post it so that you can enjoy it.**

**Thanks for everything! You guys are the best.**

**-Kate**


	11. Chapter 11 - The Rain

Chapter 11

_Tobias_

* * *

It's been about two weeks since Tris' birthday and our big fight. Things have been going pretty smoothly. There's only four and a half weeks left until the Choosing Ceremony and initiation. I'm pretty excited to get out of this cramped office for a few weeks. But for now, I have piles of work to get through. Between reviews on the security force workers to keeping up to date on what's going on in the other factions, the work feels endless.

While I'm working on a review, there's another soft knock on my door. People have been knocking on my door constantly for a few days straight now.

"What?!" I shout, extremely irritated.

"Uhhh, hi babe." Tris peeks inside, carrying something, a slight hint of apprehension in her voice and on her face.

"I'm so sorry. I thought you were one of the secretaries again. They've all been knocking on my door for stupid things for the past few days. What's up, muffin?" I open up my arms and she comes and sits on my lap. I wrap my arms around her and embrace her, pecking a kiss on her forehead.

"I just wanted to surprise you at work today. I brought you some lunch," she says as a small smile creeps at the corners of her mouth.

I look over at what she was holding when she walked in the door, now sitting on the floor, and realize it is a picnic basket.

"That's so sweet of you!" I glance down at the stack of papers on my desk, slightly conflicted.

"I can go back home if you're too busy today," she says quietly and morosely.

"No, let's just get out of here and go eat lunch together. Why don't we get out of Dauntless and head over to Navy Pier or something," I suggest.

"How about we just go outside, I don't want to take you too far away from your office. I know how busy you are," she says, complete understanding in her voice.

"That sounds good, muffin. Let's go."

We make our way through the Pit and head outside near the train tracks. We find what looks like a good spot and set down a blanket and sit down together on a patch of bright green grass. The grass is soft and cushioning under our blanket.

"This is really nice, actually. I'm glad to get out of the office for a little while," I tell her, gazing into eyes, both of ours filled with love and affection.

"What have you even been working on? I feel like we haven't really talked about your work in a few weeks."

She opens up the basket to reveal sandwiches. It's such a simple gesture, but I appreciate it more than I could ever explain to her.

"Well," I start, "I've been setting up everything for initiation since we're doing it different this year. I've also been doing the annual reviews for all of the security force. I have to determine all of their raises based on suggestions from their supervisors and my own reviews. It's a very tedious process. We've just finished setting up all of the Minneapolis residents with their jobs and point scales for their pay. I've also had to communicate with Amity, Candor, Erudite and Abnegation and get information about how they are settling in with the new residents and help them with any issues and send security over there when necessary. It's just been exhausting."

"I didn't realize you had that much to do, babe. You're always so tired when you get home, so I guess that makes sense. Isn't there anything you can pass off to someone else? Like, what are Harrison and Emily even doing?"

"They both have just as much on their plates as I do," I tell her somberly.

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I want to help you out," she says, putting a hand on my shoulder and smiling affectionately. I am so glad to be lucky enough to have Tris in my life. There's not another girl out there who could or would be so good to me.

We continue to eat our sandwiches in silence, just enjoying each other's company. There's nothing else I want to be doing right now than sitting here with Tris.

"I really need to get back to work. I'll try to get home a little early so we can spend some time together. You deserve better from me than what I've been giving you lately," I tell her with sadness spreading across my face.

"I understand. You're so busy with work and it's okay. You're doing your best," she reaffirms me, affection running deep inside of her blue-grey eyes. If I could, I would get lost in those eyes for hours on end.

* * *

I drop her off at our apartment before heading back to my office. The day ends up flying by while I get lost in paperwork. When the clock hits five, I drop everything and head home. Tris warrants more time from me and I'm going to do my best to make sure she gets it.

I open the door to our apartment and find her sitting on the couch. The sun is beginning to set in the window behind her – the light from it outlining her body just so. A look of surprise fills her face before happiness seeps across it.

"I'm so glad you came home early today," she says excitedly as she jumps up off the couch to come give me a tight, warm embrace.

"Anything for you, muffin. What are our plans for dinner tonight?" I ask, feeling hunger rumble through my stomach.

"Well, we could go to the cafeteria and eat with everyone," she says with a slightly melancholic tone. "Or, we can cook something together here and just enjoy each other's company," she finishes with adoration and a sly edge in her voice.

"Yeah, you convinced me. Let's go eat in the cafeteria," I say straight faced, trying to pretend to be serious.

Her face drops a little at that and she simply states, "Oh. Okay."

I wrap my arms around her waist. "I'm only kidding. I would love nothing more than to spend this evening with you. Let's cook something delicious."

It takes us a while to decide what to finally cook. Our fridge is nearly empty, but I can only blame myself. Since I have been working so much, we barely eat at home. I know Tris hasn't even bothered going grocery shopping lately.

We settle on pasta – simple and delicious.

I can't help but stare at her while we eat dinner. She has developed into such a beautiful being. If I couldn't keep my eyes off her before, now they stick to her like a magnet, following her around the house.

She makes her way into the kitchen to clean up the dishes and catches me staring.

"Why do you keep staring at me? It's getting a little creepy."

"I just can't help myself. You're so beautiful; I can't look away. I don't get much time to enjoy you lately, so I'm taking full advantage of my time right now," I explain to her, adoration filling my soul.

She chooses not to reply with words, but simply allows the corners of her mouth to turn up into a cute smirk. I casually stare at her while she finishes washing the dishes.

"Why don't we go for a walk outside, get out of the apartment for a little while," I suggest, nervous of what her reaction to that will be. It's not something we've ever done together.

"That actually sounds really nice, babe."

After she finishes putting the dishes away, we put on some light jackets and head out.

We walk along the edge of the Dauntless borders for a bit, just enjoying each other's company.

"How has Christina been doing? Is she adjusting to life without Will okay?" I ask her caringly.

"She's doing okay. She's still having a hard time getting over the loss, but I know she has completely forgiven me at this point and she is trying to move on. She seems super interested in that Mitch guy you're supposed to do initiation with. She stares at him a little too long whenever she sees him. It's a little stalkerish," she laughs.

"Well that's good to hear, I suppose. I just want her to be happy. Her and Will really had something special going for them."

"Way to make me feel even worse about it," Tris states vacantly, clearly annoyed at my comment.

"I don't mean to make you feel bad about it. I'm just making a statement, hun," I try to tell her in the most endearing tone possible.

We both stop walking and turn to face each other, gazing into the other's eyes. I put my arms out in front of me and she walks straight into them, wrapping hers around my torso. I kiss her forehead and we stand there for a few minutes, just enjoying the heartfelt embrace of each other.

We continue walking, slowly making our way back to the Pire.

"I think I just felt a raindrop," Tris says, slightly perplexed. The weather seems so nice, but it has cooled off pretty quickly.

Within a matter of seconds, it begins to pour on us. She looks at me, her eyes flustered and hasty, and we both start sprinting back to the Pire. When we get close, we both slow down and start laughing.

"It's just our luck to get caught out in the rain," I tell her, chuckling and grabbing at my side. Both of us are in great shape, but sprinting in the rain and laughing at the same time could cause a stitch in anyone's side.

"It really is. But it's kind of nice," she says gently, gazing into my eyes with want while she caresses my face with her hands.

I take that as permission and wrap my arms around her. I back her up into the wall and my lips lock with hers. We kiss passionately, our tongues finding each other's. I run my fingers through her hair, which is soaked from the downpour that we are caught in. There is something special about this moment that is unlike any other we have had before. I can't put my finger on it, but I know that this is a moment that I will keep in my memories forever.

"Let's go to the apartment," she manages to pant out between our kisses.

I pull back and look into her eyes, seeing the desire that has built up inside of them. I give her one last quick kiss before we head inside and make our way upstairs to our apartment.

Once we get inside, Tris pins me against the wall, kissing me with as much passion as we shared a few minutes ago outside in the rain.

Her hands slide down my abs and find the top of my pants. I feel her unbutton them as she continues to kiss me.

She slowly unzips them and shimmies them down my legs, leaving them lying at my ankles.

Her hands find my bulge, solid with desire. My cheeks flush with heat and she meets my eyes. She slowly works each of her thumbs inside the elastic waist of my boxers and gently slides them down to join my pants.

She wraps one of her dainty hands around me and gently strokes. I shut my eyes and throw my head back against the wall, quietly letting a moan of pleasure escape my mouth.

A wetness engulfs me and I feel her tongue swirl around my tip. I pull her hair back in my hand, keeping it out of her way.

My heart pounds with excitement and passion, forcing me to hold myself up against the wall behind me. After a few minutes, I feel myself begin to go weak in the knees and I know it's coming.

I let out a passionate moan and I can tell she takes the sign. She quickens her movements and suddenly, I let go.

She gently caresses me as I finish my release and slides my boxers back up for me, being careful of my overly sensitive area.

"I love you, Tris. Not because of that, but just because of who you are," I whisper to her.

"I love you, too, Tobias," she tells me as she slowly stands up, gazing into my eyes with adoration.

* * *

We jump in bed together and fall asleep swiftly, my arms wrapped around her to keep her safe and warm.

It must be early morning when I feel her stir. I hear her go into the restroom, but think nothing of it. I roll over and begin to drift back off to sleep.

My eyes fly open when I hear strained noises coming from the restroom. She's vomiting. I slowly slide out of bed and gently push the door open enough to peek inside. Tris is kneeling on the white tile floor, leaning over the toilet.

"Muffin, are you okay?" I ask her, concerned.

She looks up at me, her eyes pleading for relief.

"Tobias, I think I'm pregnant…"

* * *

**Next chapter will be out on Friday.**** Thanks for everything.**


	12. Chapter 12 - The Confirmation

**Author's Note: Surprise! I know I said this one wouldn't come until Friday, but I was able to get farther ahead than I thought.**

**Thank you so incredibly much for all the support! This was a super fun chapter for me to write. I really enjoy the journey we are going to embark on. **

**Also, a special, special thank you to my amazing new Beta Blueheaven8910! **

**Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 12

_Tris_

* * *

Tobias's eyes widen, clearly shocked and unsure of what comes next.

"Are you sure?" he asks incredulously.

"No, I'm not positive. But I feel so strange, and I've never gotten sick like this before. It's the only thing that makes sense," I tell him, pleading for relief.

"Do you want me to take you to the infirmary and get checked out and find out for sure?" His voice is more than caring. It is loving, accepting, and concerned.

I simply nod in reply, too defeated to say anything else.

We make our way down to the infirmary. It's five o'clock in the morning, so the hallways are quiet and devoid of people.

Once we arrive, I can tell that Tobias's nerves are shooting through the roof. The receptionist asks what we need, tired and not seeming to care that one of the Dauntless leaders and his girlfriend are walking into the infirmary in the middle of the morning.

"I woke up to find her leaning over the toilet puking up her guts. We think she's pregnant," he tells the nurse, reserving nothing.

She nods and enters something in the computer.

"Head on back to Room 14," she says flatly.  
"What are we going to do if you are pregnant?" he asks me, clearly nervous and unsure.

"I don't know, babe. Let's just see what the doctor says and go from there. I'm too nervous to even think about anything clearly right now," I tell him, my voice childlike.

A few minutes later, the doctor comes in and lets us know that he is going to take some blood and run a pregnancy test on it. He says it will take a few hours for the results to come back.

We head back to the apartment in silence, unsure what to say to each other. Both of us are so confused and unsure what to do. In my gut, I know it will be positive.

We wind up miraculously being able to fall back asleep. In the middle of my slumber, I hear the phone ring. I dart up out of bed and rush to answer it.

"Hello?" I say, concerned and worried at what will be said next.

"Hello, Beatrice," the doctor says. "Your results came back positive. Based on the level of hormones, we estimate that you are about two weeks along. Congratulations."

I am stunned and can't even muster up any words to say. I simply hang up the phone and go back to the bedroom, slowly sitting myself on the edge of the bed.

"What did he say?" Tobias asks instantly, concern filling his voice.

"I'm pregnant," I admit, stunned that those words just came out of my 17 year old mouth.

"Did he say how far along you are?" Tobias says, putting a hand on my shoulder out of comfort.

"Only two weeks," I state simply.

There is a minute or so of silence before Tobias breaks it.

"So it must have happened when we made up from our argument. That's the only time…" he says, his voice trailing off. He doesn't have to finish his sentence for me to know what he was going to say.

"What do you want to do about it?" he asks, apprehensive and afraid.

"I don't know. I don't feel like we're ready. But I don't know that I would be okay getting an abortion after everything that we've been through lately. There has been so much loss, I don't think I can voluntarily end a life now," I explain, still shocked.

"I agree, muffin. Even though I don't think we're ready, I know we will both be the best parents we can be to this little guy or girl. We can do it," he says, confidence surging from him. I wish I felt the same right now. But he is right; we will be the best parents we can be and we can do it. We have to. For my parents. For Al. For Will. For all of the innocent lives lost in the war.

* * *

We spend the rest of the day cuddled up in bed. Tobias skips out on work today, telling Harrison and Emily that I'm sick and he's taking care of me. It's half true, but it could be a complete lie and I would still be okay with it.

"Can I ask you something," he whispers in my ear.

I nod gently in response.

"Do you think we should get married? Since we're going to be having a baby and all, and seems like the right thing to do," he says, clearly not confident in what he's saying, much less what kind of reply he will get.

"As much as I don't think we're ready for a baby, I definitely don't think we're ready for a baby _and_ a marriage. I want to marry you someday, but for the right reasons. Not just because we accidentally got pregnant," I tell him confidently. I hear him let out his breath, a gentle sigh of relief emanating from his mouth.

"I completely agree, but I don't want you to think that I don't want to marry you. I absolutely do, just not yet," he says before giving me a kiss on the back of my head.

"I have an idea," he continues. "Let's have a little party here tomorrow night and announce it to everyone. We might as well get it over with before they start speculating. And besides, once you tell Christina, she'll tell the whole faction before you get the chance to tell one more person."

I laugh at how accurate his statement is. "You're right. Let's do that. It sounds like a good time. And besides, I'd rather get it over with and get it off of our chests now rather than keep the burden. And with how excited everyone will be, it will probably help us accept it a little more," I explain.

* * *

Tobias heads down to the cafeteria alone tonight for dinner. Since he skipped work because I'm "sick", we decided it was best for me not to make an appearance. The plan was for him to go down there to pick up some food for us, and while he's there, invite our friends to our party for the next night.

By the time he gets back, the sun is setting, casting an orange glow throughout our apartment. As he enters through the front door, the glow spreads across his face, causing him to squint his eyes as they search the apartment for me.

"What did you get us to eat? It smells fantastic," I ask him, rising from my spot, nestled in the corner of the couch.

"Just grilled chicken; nothing too exciting," he states, his face slightly disappointed. As he speaks though, the smells are wafting at my nose and my mouth starts salivating.

He sets everything down on the dining table and I rush over, unable to contain my excitement over this dinner.

"Holy shit, Tris. You weren't acting like this over food yesterday, is it all in your head or what?" he laughs at me.

"I have no idea, I think I'm just hungry. Did you tell everyone about our party?" I ask, my mouth full of food.

"Could you be any less womanly right now?" Tobias says sarcastically. "And yeah, I told them. They were a little surprised and I don't blame them, considering we've never hosted a party before. But they'll be here, don't worry. Are you getting nervous to tell them all?"

"Yeah, aren't you?" I ask incredulously.

"Well of course. I'm just trying to put on a brave face for you. This is way scarier for you than it is for me," he tells me, gazing into my eyes with love and understanding. If this was going to happen to me, I'm glad it's with Tobias.

* * *

The next twenty-four hours are a complete blur. Tobias has to go to work, but I spend the day setting up our apartment for the party and shopping for tons of booze for everyone else.

"Do you like it? Is it too much?" I ask him before he can even say hi to me.

"It looks… great," he says in an astonished tone. His eyes are open wide as he looks around the apartment. There are pink, blue, and yellow ribbons and streamers hanging from the ceiling and walls to decorate up a little bit. I'm sure people will get the hint when they walk in, but it's not too obvious that they'll know right away.

"So if they don't figure it out right away when they walk in, I got an obvious way to tell them," I explain.

"Oh? And how might that be little lady?" Tobias asks me in a teasing, endearing voice.

"While I was out, I also stopped at the bakery and got a chocolate cake and had them inscribe "We're expecting!" on the top." As I explain, I walk over to the refrigerator and get it out to show him.

"Looks delicious!" he says excitedly. "So, is this how we're going to tell them then? Just once they all arrive say that we have cake and bring it out?"

"I guess so. I'm just not sure how else to do it," I explain.

"Well, let's just play it by ear. But we should say something sooner rather than later. Especially since it's the reason we're having this party," Tobias states. I nod in agreement just before we hear the first knock on our door of the night.

"Quick, put the cake away!" he says in a shouted whisper as he heads to open the door.

"Hey man," I hear him say.

I look over and see Zeke and Tobias as they shake hands and go in for a bro hug. Then I see someone I wasn't expecting follow Zeke in – Emily.

I walk over to Zeke to say hi and whisper in his ear in the most menacing tone possible, "Why is she here and why did she come in right after you did? Did you bring her here?"

"Yeah, I brought her. She's not that bad, just give her a chance, okay?" he pleads. I nod in agreement, though my eyes say otherwise.

Shortly after, I notice that Brody is here and must have come in with Zeke and Emily. There are a few other people I know vaguely from seeing around Dauntless, but no one I plan on spending an extended amount of time with.

I steal a glance from Tobias just before there is another knock at the door. That knock brings Uriah, Mitch, and Christina, but before I can even shut the door, I hear a yell from down the hallway. I peek my head outside and see Lauren pushing Shauna over and Peter and two others I don't recognize following behind.

"I'm so glad you're here," I tell Christina, my eyes pleading for comfort and familiarity. I'm not used to playing party hostess, but I know this isn't going to be a normal Dauntless party, so maybe it'll be okay.

"Tris, what are you doing without anything to drink in your hand! It's your party, you better get started!" Zeke yells to me from across the room.

"Well I got a cake for everyone to celebrate. Let's have that really quickly!" I shout back, trying to deflect his statement without seeming obvious.

I make my way over to the fridge and pull out the huge chocolate cake. Tobias spots me and heads over to help me make our big announcement.

"So everyone, we didn't just host this party for no reason, I mean when have we ever done that? We wanted to make a little announcement!" Tobias says, giddy with excitement.

I can see the wheels turning in most everyone's heads. We tip the cake down a little to let everyone read the words on top. Christina's jaw hits the floor and she starts squealing. Zeke and Uriah both allow huge smiles to creep across their faces. I look over at Tobias and we both know that this was the perfect way to tell everyone.

"Are you getting married now, too?" Zeke asks, rather loudly so that the whole room can hear. Tobias and I look at each other, both apprehensive.

"We decided that although we're not ready for a child, we will love him or her regardless. But we are not ready to get married just yet, but it is definitely in our plans for the near future. One thing at a time, Zeke," he tells everyone.

Everyone starts stomping, clapping and yelling for us in a true Dauntless fashion. I am so glad that I chose this faction over all of the others. It truly feels like home. It is a family.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Choosing

**Author's Note: As always, thanks for all the support and thank you so much for reading and enjoying (I hope!) my story.**

**Thanks again to my Beta, Blueheaven8910.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

_Tris_

* * *

It's been four weeks since we announced the pregnancy to all of our friends. My stomach is beginning to protrude just the slightest, and Tobias keeps a hand on it every moment he can. It's so adorable and makes me feel so happy that he is so excited for this, regardless of how nervous we both are. He is going to be the most doting, loving father that he can possibly be. I can see the determination in his eyes. I know most of it stems from his childhood, and he is determined not to turn out like _him_. He is too determined to be a good father that there is no doubt in my mind whether or not he will be.

I awaken to find Tobias resting his hand on my belly, just like I have every morning for the past few weeks since we found out. I try to slide gracefully out of bed, but as always, my movement wakes him.

"Are you okay, muffin? Are you feeling sick?" he asks rapidly, concern filling his tired, scratchy voice. I see him struggle to open his eyelids completely.

"I'm fine, I'm just nervous. I have a weird feeling about today."

Today is the Choosing Ceremony. We have to head to The Hub in just a few hours and see all of the young members that are the future of our city.

I get ready for the day, putting on classic Dauntless black clothes with a little red belt to accent my outfit. My shirt is just tight enough to show my little bump. If people don't know better, they'll probably just think I gained some weight and got a little pudge, but I know Tobias will appreciate my outfit.

After I finish attempting to make myself look as nice as I can, I start cooking some breakfast in the kitchen. Before Tobias even finishes getting dressed, I've already burned a batch of eggs. The smoke billows through our apartment, seeping its way through the cracks of the bedroom door.

Tobias comes running out of the bedroom, terror in his eyes, "Muffin, are you okay? What's wrong? Is something on fire?"

"No, I just burned some eggs. I wasn't paying attention, sorry," I state flatly. "Why don't you finish getting ready and I'll go grab some food from the cafeteria in the mean time."

"No, I'm almost done. I just need to put a shirt on. Give me two minutes." I don't believe him. His hair is shaggy and disheveled, and his body still covered in water droplets from the shower that he rushed out of due to the smoke permeating into the bathroom.

Right on schedule, two minutes later, Tobias and I walk down to the cafeteria and each grab a muffin and a banana. He always makes sure I eat more than I normally would in order to feed the baby, but today it's harder than most. I can barely manage to eat the whole muffin much less the banana too.

"Tris," Tobias says, looking me straight in the eyes, "I can tell something's wrong. What is it? Talk to me." His eyes are pleading with me.

"I'm just nervous to go to The Hub. It's the last place I was a real part of my family. And this time, my parents won't be there. It's just going to be so different from last year," I explain. "I know that we are a growing family now, but I still miss my parents."

He looks at me, love swelling in his eyes and scoops his hands behind my head to pull me in for a kiss.

"It's okay to miss them, Tris. They were nothing but good to you and their sacrifice was one of the most courageous things I've ever known."

* * *

After we finish breakfast, we head over to The Hub with Zeke, Emily, Uriah, and Christina. I know most everyone is coming, but I'm just not in the mood to be surrounded by so many people on a day like today.

When we get inside, the concentric rows of seats are nearly filled. The Dauntless always seem to arrive last. Tobias and I take our seats in the front row, ready to welcome the Dauntless initiates. Harrison and Emily take seats next to us. It is great to see how excited our leaders are to welcome our future.

I peer around at all of the new and old faces that fill the room. The Abnegation section is filled half-full with grey clothed members. The other half is full of Factionless. The Abnegation population has diminished so immensely because of the war and it is more evident than ever at this moment.

It is Amity's turn to host the Choosing Ceremony this year, so Johanna is standing at the front of the room, a reserved smile on her face, ready to address all of us, old and new.

Once all of the seats are filled, Johanna clears her voice, ready to begin. "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony!" she announces, rather loudly for how I know her to speak. "I am so honored to be able to host this year's ceremony on behalf of Amity. After all of the events that have taken place this past year here in Chicago, I did not think this ceremony would ever happen again. But here we are, and I am so elated to be here. I am also extremely excited to welcome all of our new denizens to our ceremony. I know I speak on behalf of all of the Chicago residents when I say that we would not be here without you all and we are grateful that you all were willing to uproot and move here to create a better city and life for all of us.

"I would like to welcome the Abnegation," she says as she gestures towards them and continues, "The Factionless, the Candor, the Dauntless, the Erudite, and the Amity." The entire room erupts in a roar of cheers and applause; the loudest section of course being ours, the Dauntless.

I look around the room while she talks, hoping to find my parents. I know I won't, but something keeps compelling me to look anyways. Tobias catches me searching and simply puts his arm around my shoulders, reminding me that he is my family now.

Johanna goes on to read the faction manifestos. It is a long and tedious speech, but it reminds all of us what our factions truly stand for. It reminds us all why we are still here in Chicago, the way it was intended to be – with factions. Everyone in the room is so silent; you can hear every movement anyone makes.

By the time she has finished, there is a fire behind everyone's eyes. I know that our city will be successful and prosperous for years to come due to everything we have endured.

"The journey that each of you are about to embark on is one of self discovery. Some of you will leave behind your family forever and create a new one in your new factions. The Amity tell us to love your enemies, for they will tell you your faults. The Abnegation tell us that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. The Candor tell us that it is harder to find yourself than it is to be honest. The Dauntless tell us that you must be afraid of being average in order to thrive. And finally, the Erudite tell us that knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

"It is imperative to choose the faction in which you feel comfortable creating a new family for yourself, as well as one in which you believe you can discover yourself. Are you kind? Are you selfless? Are you smart? Are you brave? Or are you honest?

"Some of you may answer yes to only one of these – for you, your choice is easy. For some of you, you may answer yes to two or more of these – for you, your choice is much more difficult, but it is not impossible. Choose the faction in which you believe you will be able to create a wonderful life for yourself. Each and every one of you is the future of our city. It is up to you to embody the values of your faction and continue to live up to the manifestos that guide us each and every day."

"And now, we will begin the Choosing," Johanna announces, clearly pleased with her performance so far.

For a while, there are no transfers. Most everyone stays in their born factions. The Factionless will choose last.

"Mina Thompson," Johanna calls out. A girl who is very similar in height to me stands from the Erudite section – her golden brown hair falling over her glasses, concealing what appears to be beautiful hazel eyes. She gets onto the stage and picks up the knife. She slices her hand with no hesitation whatsoever and allows her hot blood to sizzle on the coals of Dauntless.

Instantly, our entire faction jumps to their feet and a roar of cheers erupts. Mina comes over and stands in the initiate area, waiting for the rest of her peers to choose.

The next name Johanna announces is a little bit of a surprise. "Charlotte Thompson." It takes a few seconds of staring before I notice that this is Mina's twin sister. They are nearly identical, except Charlotte is a little curvier and bustier than Mina, not that I mean to diminish the fabulous shape that Mina has.

Charlotte slices her hand, slightly hesitating and obviously wincing at the pain. She places her hand above the bowl and her blood drops onto the Dauntless coals. I glance over to Mina and see a beaming smile spread across her face.

Over the next hour or so, we gain a few new transfers, as do all of the factions, but most initiates, as always, remain in their born factions.

"And lastly, Hadley Abbott!" Johanna finally utters.

As Hadley walks up to the stage, Johanna smiles at her and puts her hand on her shoulder as she whispers something in her ear. Hadley is dressed in Amity red and is a Chicago native. I wait to see her drop her blood into the soil, but she doesn't. Instead, it sizzles on the coals, just like so many others' have today. In sheer surprise, the Dauntless all jump up and roar, excited to get the last initiate of the year. We managed to get eight transfers and we kept ten Dauntless-born.

The Factionless then rechoose. A few of the elder Dauntless choose to come back. The only person I really pay attention to, though, is Myra. She chooses Erudite, her original faction. I have been wondering about her since Edward was killed. I thought she might come back to Dauntless, but I suppose she was never cut out for it to begin with.

I notice that Drew and Molly both go back to Candor. I'm just glad that they didn't come back to Dauntless. I don't want to have to deal with them ever again.

Once the Ceremony is finally finished, I head back to Dauntless with the rest of the faction. Emily is in charge of leading the initiates to the back entrance of Dauntless.

We gather in the Pit, everyone drinking and partying while we wait for the first jumper to fall.

* * *

**Another Author's Note: This was a really fun chapter for me to write. I thoroughly enjoyed writing Johanna's speech. I just wanted to take a little note to say that some of the things she says in this chapter are derived from quotes by Mahatma Ghandi, Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin, and, surprisingly, Taylor Swift. **

**Chapter 14 will be coming on Friday! Thanks for everything**


	14. Chapter 14 - The Anticipation

Chapter 14

_Tobias_

* * *

We've been hanging out in the Pit for a good while when we hear a swoosh of air and see a body bounce on the net. I help the girl roll off, and I notice that it's the twin who hesitated when she sliced her hand open today. Not many people hesitate when they cut their hand; they usually hesitate when they let the blood drop into the bowls.

"What's your name?" I ask her in my best instructor voice. I love reprising my role each year, this year more than most. It is a nice change of pace, but being a leader has made it even better to get the break this year.

"Charlotte," she states confidently.

"First jumper, Charlotte!" I announce to everyone in the Pit. The cheers echo off the walls. Her face gleams with excitement and pride.

The rest of the jumpers are a blur. I'll learn their names eventually. Maybe.

Mitch and I take all of the transfers on a tour of Dauntless. Just like the Minneapolis Dauntless, they are amazed at the Chasm. I don't really understand the fascination with it. Perhaps it's the gushing, menacing noises that emanate from it. It is so full of life, but can quickly end one as well. We end the tour at the dorms, like always.

"Well, that's Dauntless. I hope you all enjoy your new home. If you don't, well you better get used to it fast. Initiation will begin tomorrow morning at eight and end at six. Be in the Pit by then or you will start initiation with negative points. That's not where you want to be. There are three stages – physical, emotional, and mental. You must be able to hone in on all three aspects in order to succeed. If you do not succeed, well, you won't be factionless, but you'll have a pretty shitty job. I'll see you in the morning. Be ready." It doesn't take long for me to get back into the groove of my instructor role. And I love it.

It only takes me a few minutes to get home to my beautiful and wonderful pregnant girlfriend. There's something so beautiful about the gradual changes her body is going through. But what's more beautiful, is the life she is allowing to grow inside of her. I can't help but feel the utmost respect and love for her right now.

"Are you ready for the first day of training tomorrow?" I ask her over dinner.

"Yeah, I suppose. I mean I'm not really doing much. I'm just another set of eyes and another opinion to help rank them. It's not like you would let me do anything else anyways," she says flatly, rolling her eyes.

I chuckle a little at her bluntness and say, "It's only because I love you both and care about you both." I smile spreads across her face as I reach over and put my hand on her growing belly. It's not much yet, but in just a few weeks, with how small her frame is, I know it's going to look much bigger.

* * *

The next morning, my alarm sounds at seven. Normally, I would moan and groan my way through getting ready, but today, I'm up easily and entirely excited. For the first time in months, I don't have to go to the office. I get to go do what I do best – teach people how to fight.

I get ready with a little bit of haste and accidentally make too much noise, causing Tris to stir. I can tell that she is grumpy and agitated, but I know as soon as I leave, she'll fall back asleep before I can even make it down to the dorms.

When I get to the cafeteria for breakfast, I notice that like always, none of the initiates are here eating. Even Zeke and Lauren aren't here yet. The only people that I recognize are Mitch and Emily.

I grab a great looking banana. It is all yellow with just a tinge of green on the ends – just the way I like it. They also are serving blueberry muffins this morning – my favorite. They're best when they're still a little warm.

I head over to the table Mitch and Emily are sitting at, but when I sit down, Emily starts to leave.

"Hey, Four. Sorry, I'm just finishing, gotta head out. Lots of work to do since you're doing training now." Her voice is filled with disgust and frustration. I let it roll off my back though. I can't dwell on other people's ill feelings. As she leaves, I see Mitch glare at her, like he has some ill will or bad feelings towards her. I don't ask, though.

A few minutes of silence go by before I break it. "Are you ready for today?"

"Yeah, I think it'll be quite a bit of fun. I'm a little nervous, though," Mitch replies, using his fork to play with his eggs.

"Well, let's finish up and go to the Pit. I'm just wondering how many of them will be late this year," I state as I chuckle a little at the terror I see in initiates eyes each year.

We toss our trash and walk to the Pit together in silence. I like Mitch. He doesn't try to bullshit with me or talk meaninglessly just to fill the void. When he says something, it's because it's important and a contribution to the conversation.

When we get into the Pit a few moments later, we start counting heads and see all eighteen initiates are there, as well as Zeke and Lauren. I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised.

"Alright, let's get started," I announce loudly and sternly as Mitch and I walk in. "Today we are going to teach you guys how to fight properly. The first thing we want to teach you is one of the most important things. First, you're going to learn how to shoot a gun. Then later today, we're going to teach you how to win a fight. As I explain, Mitch walks down the line of initiates and hands each of them a gun.

Zeke and Lauren set up the targets earlier this morning. I demonstrated last year, so I let Zeke take the reins this year and watch as he sends a bullet right through the center of the target. The initiate's eyes all widen in awe.

We let them all practice for a few hours. When ten rolls around, I peer around, waiting for Tris to arrive. She is allowed to come later in the morning so that she can get proper rest, but it always worries me when she is even a minute late to anything.

Around five after, she comes in and takes a seat next to me.

"How are they doing so far?" she inquires inquisitively.

"Most are doing okay, but there are a few who need a little work. They'll catch on with time, I'm sure."

We watch them until it's time for a lunch break and come to the conclusion that although Hadley started off slow, she picked up fast, much like Tris did. Charlotte is a natural, but Mina on the other hand hasn't been able to get the hang of it. The rest of the initiates were nothing special worth mentioning. Some did decent; some did poorly.

"Alright everyone! Let's break for lunch. Meet back here in an hour and then we will begin the second half of our training for today," I announce to everyone.

I turn and look at Tris who has a contorted look on her face. "Is everything okay, muffin?" I ask, rather concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just some cramps. They'll pass. I'm sure it's nothing," she says, her tone not very convincing.

"Why don't we go up to the apartment for lunch and you can lay down for a little bit? Maybe it'll pass over," I suggest.

"Yeah, let's do that."

It only takes us a few minutes to get to our apartment. When we get inside, Tris immediately goes to the bedroom and lies down, emitting a sigh as she does so.

"Let me know if you need anything. I'm going to eat a little lunch," I tell her. I make a sandwich in the kitchen before situating myself comfortably on the couch.

Forty-five minutes pass before I go in the bedroom to check on Tris. She is resting comfortably, but clearly not asleep.

"It's time to head back down. Are you feeling up to it?"

"Yeah, I feel much better. I think my body was just a little wound up," she explains.

We make our way back down to the Pit where most everyone is already waiting. We are still missing a few people, but they have a couple minutes left.

"How is she doing, man? She looks miserable today," Zeke whispers to me. It's obvious in her eyes the agony she is feeling. I just hope that she and the baby are both okay.

"I think she'll be fine. She got to lie down during lunch and got some rest. She seems to be feeling better now. I'm distracted today, so why don't you show them the punches this year," I offer.

"Alright everyone!" Zeke announces. "For the second half of your training today, we're going to teach you how to fight. I advise that you pay close attention and learn fast. If you don't, once you start fighting each other, you will get hurt pretty easily," he explains. "The goal of this is to train your body. It needs to react on instinct in order to protect you and respond to any threats you might come upon."

We lead all of the initiates over to the practice room. As always, the wooden floor is cracked and creaks with every step. It feels just like home.

"I'm going to demonstrate a few different maneuvers. After, you will be able to practice them on the punching bags." He motions his hands to the bags, ensuring that the initiates all notice them and their wear from years of Dauntless practicing.

"Today is just technique day," I explain to them, interjecting between Zeke's wonderful speech. "Tomorrow is when you will begin fighting each other. So learn fast."

Zeke walks over to one of the bags and demonstrates quite a few different maneuvers and punches. I usually only demonstrated a handful or so, in order not to overwhelm the initiates. That's clearly not his tactic though.

Once he finishes, he tells the initiates to each pick a bag and start practicing. We observe them for the rest of the afternoon, ensuring to keep a mental note of everyone's progress as the day goes on and offering help and advice as we see fit.

A few hours into the training session, Uriah walks in.

"Hey man. What are you doing here? Coming to check out the fresh meat?" I joke.

"Yeah, something like that," he replies, an air of whimsy in his voice. Zeke gives him a curious look as he speaks, clearly weary of Uriah's intentions for being here.

"Uriah, you can't have any of them. I don't know which one you're interested in, but no," Zeke states firmly.

Uriah instantly snaps out of his dreamland and gives Zeke a stern look before turning around and walking out of the practice room.

When six rolls around, the exhaustion is clearly apparent in all of the initiates' faces. They're going to get a good night's sleep tonight, that's for sure.

"Okay everyone. Great job today. Go enjoy some dinner and rest up. We begin tomorrow at eight and you will be fighting each other. Hopefully you don't embarrass yourself," I explain with a sense of excitement in my voice. The pairings are always fun. People get cocky very easily during this stage and I love bringing them back to reality.

* * *

After dinner, Tris and I head back up to our apartment. She still doesn't look too well, but she puts on a good front.

"How are you feeling, muffin," I ask as I wrap her in my arms. "Any better?"

She sighs and a look of defeat crosses her face. "I was feeling better after lunch, but as the day went on, the pains kept getting worse. I've never had cramps like this before."

"Well, let's just get ready for bed and then you and the little one can rest all night long. We had a long day today and you deserve it." I put my hand on her little bump and smile at her, to which she reciprocates.

I watch her longingly as she takes off her clothes and changes into some comfortable pajamas. Her tank top that used to hang loosely now pulls taught ever so slightly across her midsection. I smile at the excitement of the new addition we will have in just over seven months.

After I get my clothes off, I jump into bed with her, wrapping my arms around her, encasing her in warmth and comfort. I know she doesn't feel well, but hopefully a little love and affection can cure it.

Before I can even finish thinking about how wonderful my girlfriend is, I hear deep breaths emanating from her mouth, signaling the deep sleep that she has already been captured into. It doesn't take long for me to join her.

* * *

**Author's Note: Apologies in advance... My life is CRAZY right now (I'm graduating university next week) and I will only be able to post once next week. I'm planning on Wednesday, but I can't promise anything yet! **

**As always, thanks to my Beta, Blueheaven8910 and thanks to all of you for reading! **

**See you soon :)**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Misery

Chapter 15

_Tris_

* * *

I wake up to after what seems like only a few minutes of sleep to a ridiculously sharp pain in my abdomen. I jolt upright and instantly keel over, contracting my muscles as much as I can in order to try to ease the pain. I feel Tobias place a hand on my back and begin to rub in slow circles, attempting to soothe and calm me. I briefly open my eyes and notice that my head is between my knees. That's when I see it. Blood.

Instantly, I begin to panic. "I'm bleeding." It's all I can manage to spit out. The pain is excruciating – unlike anything I've felt before.

Tobias immediately gets out of bed and comes to pick me up – one hand under my knees, the other supporting my back. He quickly makes his way out of the apartment and down towards the infirmary. His walk is fast and determined, but careful and loving.

The next bit is such a blur to me. I remember the doctor bringing me to an exam room and giving me an ultrasound, which is when he told me. The rest of the night was filled with sharp pains and lots of tears. By the time Tobias's alarm goes off, I am exhausted physically and emotionally.

"You don't have to come today. Why don't you stay home and rest? I'll try to come home early as well so that you don't have to be alone." His eyes are filled with remorse. I feel as though I have disappointed him.

"Yeah, I'd like to stay home today. Just try to come home at lunch time, okay?" I hate letting him go, and I know he hates that he has to go.

* * *

I spend the majority of the morning sleeping – well, attempting to sleep. My mind is racing with thoughts of why this happened to me. And how are we going to tell everyone what happened? It's not like we can keep it a secret.

I see Tobias peek his head inside the bedroom door and I know it must be lunchtime.

"How are you doing?" he asks, sadness swelling in his eyes.

"I physically feel fine."

"And mentally?"

I try to start speaking, but instead, my throat closes up and tears begin to fill my eyes. I look up at Tobias through my watery eyes and see his heart melt. Before I know it, his arms are wrapped around me and he is planting kisses on the top of my head, comforting me.

"I got the rest of the day off. Zeke said that he, Mitch, and Lauren will be able to handle the rest of the day just fine without me," he explains.

"Did you tell him what happened?" I manage to sputter out between my sobs and tears.

"Yeah, but I didn't tell anyone else. He said he'd stop by later to see if we need anything."

"How did the fights go?" I ask, trying to distract myself from my emotions.

"They were okay. We're not letting them fight to knock each other out again this year. They can concede whenever they like, but they do have to try to fight. You were supposed to be the referee to determine when they could stop fighting, but we let Mitch do it today since you weren't there. Hadley did quite well, and so did Charlotte. No one else was worth mentioning. The Dauntless-born all did pretty decent though, of course."

"Sounds pretty exciting though. I wish I could have been there," I say remorsefully.

"It's okay, muffin. You needed some rest today. You can come tomorrow." A small smile appears as the corners of his mouth turn up. "When do you want to try to tell everyone?"

"Sooner rather than later. I don't want people to wonder why I'm not getting any bigger. And I think it might be a good idea to tell Christina separately. I haven't spent much time with her lately and I know she was really excited about this. I don't want her to feel neglected."

"I think that's a really good idea. You don't even have to announce it to everyone. If you just mention it to our close friends, that's enough. Word will spread eventually anyways. We know how it works." Tobias's arms are warm around my body. It's nice to have his strength comfort me at times like these.

I decide to get out of the apartment and go find Christina. She deserves to hear this from me and not someone else. She was so excited when we told everyone and I know she'll be just as crushed as Tobias and I are about this news.

"Babe, I'm going to go find Christina and let her know the news," I tell Tobias so that he doesn't worry about where I'm going.

"That's fine. Just don't wear yourself out."

I head out the door and go to Christina's apartment. Something tells me she won't be there, but I check anyways.

It only takes a few minutes to walk to the elevator, take it down a few floors, and then walk to her door. I knock and shout her name, but she never comes. The only other place I can think that she would be right now is the last place I want to go.

I make my way down to the Pit and then over to where I know I will find her – the shopping district. It doesn't take me much longer to find her. The most unfortunate part about it, though, is that I find her in the maternity department, shopping for clothes for me.

"Tris! What are you doing here?" she asks, nervous and excited at the same time. She must think I'm here to shop for myself.

"I've been looking for you. I need to talk to you about something." Her face slowly falls at the tone of my voice. She knows it isn't good.

"I was trying to surprise you. You weren't supposed to know about all of this just yet," she says as she glances down at all of the maternity clothes in her hands. "What's wrong though? You're making me nervous with your tone right now."

"I don't know how to say this other than to just say it. I had a miscarriage last night." After I finish speaking, I try to keep calm and maintain a strong composure, but it only lasts a matter of seconds before I burst into tears. It takes me a few moments to notice Christina's arms wrapped around me, exuding comfort into me.

"I know I haven't been a very good friend lately. I've been so busy and I've barely been spending any time with you. But you're the only person I want to talk to about this right now. Tobias is disappointed at the situation and I feel like I let him down. He was really looking forward to having this baby and I just ruined it for both of us." I blurt everything out breathlessly, as though it's all one sentence – pausing only to heave in air between my sobs and words.

"Tris, Four could never be disappointed in you for something that is completely out of your control like this. There's nothing that you could have done to prevent this from happening. And it doesn't matter how busy either of us get, you'll always be my best friend, and I'll always be here for you whenever you need me. That's what friends do." Christina's words are so moving and caring. There's no one else that I'd rather call my best friend.

"I guess I'd better put these back," she says with a small smile as she starts putting the maternity clothes away. "Soon, we'll be able to go shopping for maternity clothes together. It's only a matter of time before you and Four get married and start popping the babies out one after another."

"You're so crass, Christina. But you're right. Next time I'm pregnant, we will do lots of shopping together and really enjoy every moment of it," I reassure her. In the back of my mind, though, I feel like she will get pregnant before I do.

* * *

"Are you disappointed in me?" I ask Tobias as we cuddle on the couch together.

"Definitely not, muffin. There's nothing you could have done differently. I'll always love you regardless of what happens in our lives. And besides, we can try again when we're ready. And then we can actually plan it out and not have it be a surprise. Everything will work out okay." His tone is more than reassuring. It is filled with empathy and benevolence.

"That must be Zeke," Tobias says after we hear a knock at the door. "Come on it, it's open!"

"Zeke's head peeks inside the door to see Tobias and I cuddled up on the couch, my face still filled with sorrow.

"How are you feeling Tris?" he asks, kindness swelling in his voice. It's nice that Tobias's friends have accepted me and care about me so much.

"I've been better, but as the day has gone on, it's gotten easier. Thanks so much for stopping by, it really means a lot."

"It's the least I can do. I know how hard this must be for the both of you. How are you guys taking it?" he asks, seeming to honestly care.

"I mean, of course it's hard. We've had so much loss in the past few months and this one isn't any easier," I explain.

"It's a little bit of a relief as well, though. Now we can actually try to plan it out for next time and be prepared. And hopefully married," Tobias interjects. I give him a stare of disbelief as he speaks.

"_Relieved_? That's the word you're using right now?" I spit at him.

"You can't tell me that you're not. Of course I'm sad and frustrated that this happened. I was extremely excited for this. But now we can plan it out next time and really be ready instead of it being an accident." I can tell that he is just trying to be honest and loving, but he's just being a little too honest for this moment in time.

"I'm going to go lie down. I need some rest," I say allowing my agitation to seep out into my words.

Before Tobias or Zeke can even reply, I get up and go into the bedroom. Once I shut the door, though, my emotions finally boil over. At this point, I really just need some space and alone time to take all of this in. I guess this would be called grieving.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry that this is the only update you're getting this week, and it's a sad chapter at that. I'm _trying_ to have three for you next week to make up for it though!**

**I've been in a little bit of creative block, so it's hard to be motivated to write the past week or two. Please read and review and let me know what you think! Motivate me :)**

**You guys are seriously the best. Thanks to you, this story has almost 12,000 views already. It's amazing! I never thought anyone would enjoy something I wrote.**

**See you soon :)**


	16. Chapter 16 - The Landscape

**Author's Note: Sorry this is coming to you so late! It is totally my fault. I am so busy with life right now, but shortly, I'll be all yours! I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, a special thanks to my Beta Blueheaven8910!**

* * *

Chapter 16

_Tris_

* * *

It only took an hour or so of crying in order to pass out. At some point, Tobias came to bed and wrapped his arms around me because when I woke up this morning, he had me pulled close to his body, radiating his warmth and safety into me. While I slowly pull into consciousness as I wake up, I know that I must put this behind me and move on. I must go watch the initiate fights today and help judge so that I can make educated decisions when it comes time for the final rankings. If I miss too much, my judgment could be skewed or inaccurate. I must remind myself that there are more important things in life than dwelling on something that you cannot change.

I slowly slide myself out of Tobias's grasp and shimmy my way out of bed, desperately trying not to wake him. I know my efforts are a success when I slowly close the bedroom door and never hear him stir.

I look around the apartment, trying to decide what my first move of the day will be when I see it – the coffee maker. I brew a pot and wrap my hands around the warm cup I poured the contents in to. It's a nice, warm, cozy feeling to allow your hands to embrace a hot cup of coffee. The rich cocoa aroma reaches my nose, enticing me to slowly sip on it, even though I know it will burn my mouth.

I plop myself on the couch with my mug. _ I can't believe that happened. It just doesn't feel real,_ I think to myself.

I allow myself a long pull on my coffee before I get up to go cook breakfast. Eggs and toast this morning; simple.

The amazing smell of breakfast wafting out of the kitchen must hit Tobias like a brick wall, because before I know it, he is wide awake and standing behind me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head.

"Are you excited to come watch training this morning?" he asks me, his voice still raspy from waking up.

"I guess. I just want it to be over with. I'm feeling like I don't want to be around anyone right now. But I'm sure it's just a phase. I'll get over it with time."

"It's just what was meant to be. We have to believe that it happened for a reason and we will try again when the time is right. Don't think about it too much," Tobias says, reaffirming me.

We enjoy breakfast together. It is simple, but absolutely delicious – exactly what I needed this morning.

We go to training and it's nothing special. The entire time we're there, all I can think about is leaving. We do the scoring pretty similar to last year though. If you beat someone who is a higher skill level than you, you earn a lot of points and they lose a lot of points.

* * *

The fighting stage goes on for a few more days before we finally move into fear simulations. I'm much more interested in the fear simulations than watching people beat each other up.

We spend an entire week going through fear simulations. There were some pretty entertaining fears, as well as some that felt very real. Quite a few initiates were afraid of spiders or drowning, while only a few were afraid of heights.

One of the fears that got to me, though, was one of Charlotte's fears. When we went through her fear simulation, she was cuddled up on the couch with none other than Uriah – which is an entirely different discussion at this point – and he suddenly looked at her, got up, walked out the door, and never came back. It took a little thinking for me to figure out what her fear was. She's afraid of abandonment.

The most interesting initiate, though, is Hadley. She is the only divergent and she doesn't have to suppress it this year, so she is able to get through her fears in only a few minutes. It's quite impressive. Not only that, but she only has eight fears.

Throughout the week, we also took the initiates to capture the flag and zip lining. It's such a tradition we couldn't not do it.

The last day of the fear simulations arrives and I'm more than ready for the fear landscapes. I want to see how well the initiates manage getting through all of their fears at once. This year, I'm the mule and have to let the initiates each go through one fear with me. It's been a while since I've been through my own fear landscape, so I'm apprehensive about what the initiates will see when they enter with me.

I stick myself with a needle, ready to enter with the first initiate.

I am anticipating the green grass that always comes first. I look over at the initiate who appears terrified, unsure what is going to come at him. I didn't want to tell them the fears in advance because I know some of them must have changed.

It only takes a few moments for me to ear the wings flapping near my ears. The initiate is smarter than I was, for instead of trying to hit the crows away, he already has a gun out and ready. In rapid succession, I see the crows drop one by one.

He has successfully overcome the fear, so we exit the fear landscape.

Powerlessness. I don't think I can ever overcome that one.

The next initiate and I enter the fear landscape again. This one would scare most people for its face value. However, it scares me because it emulates my weakness.

We are in the glass tank together. I know how to move past this fear, but this initiate does not. I see her begin to panic. This tank could symbolize claustrophobia or drowning or any multitude of fears, but for me, it is only about weakness. I look her in the eyes, telling her without words that it is okay and she needs to calm down and figure out how to get out of this tank.

She punches the glass. I know it will not work, but I let her try anyways. This is a learning experience.

The water is up to our knees and rising quickly. I see her ball her fists tightly and focus her face. She punches the glass once more and it instantly shatters. She realized that she is stronger than the glass.

The next fear I enter is new. It used to be me out in the sea, being pushed and pulled by the current and waves, flinging around and gasping for air, struggling to be in control.

This time, however, I am in a cold, dark room, lying on a table. The initiate is standing in the corner, clearly unsure what's going on. I know what is coming next, though.

A doctor comes in and tells me that I am pregnant again. I know in my mind that it was an accidental pregnancy, just like the last one. Again, this fear is about being out of control, just as it was before, only coming in a different form. I know the only way to move past this fear is to accept it. So in my fear, I tell the doctor how elated I am and how excited I am for this wonderful gift. That's when everything goes black and the fear has ended.

I have to explain the fear and what I did to the initiate, since it was more of a mental thing to overcome. I need to make sure that these initiates can do this themselves.

The next fear used to be about my friends and enemies coming together against me. That basically came true in the war, so I'm expecting something new. What does come, though, is a shock to me.

As the fear landscape develops, I notice instantly that I am in my living room. There is a baby lying in a bassinet on the floor, crying as though no one will ever hear it. I see Tobias in the bedroom through a crack in the door. He is packing a bag. A few moments later, he looks at me with disgust in his eyes and walks out the door. I am afraid of being abandoned with a family. Instantly, I begin to cry, unsure of how this fear came about. I have no idea how to overcome this fear, all I know is what I would do if it were real.

I jump off the couch, almost instantly and run out the door, chasing after Tobias. Once I get in the hallway, though, he is nowhere to be found. I run endlessly through hallway after hallway with no luck. I realize then that I will never find him. I am alone with a baby.

I realize that the only way to overcome this fear is to accept the fate and calm my heart rate. I go back to the apartment and coddle the baby until it stops crying. The room goes black and I know I have successfully completed the fear.

The next initiate comes up, excited and ready to go. Together, we plunge into my fear. I am back in my Abnegation house and I instantly know that this is another familiar fear that has remained unchanged.

The room is dark, lit only by dim moonlight peeking through the windows. I see a man standing outside my window, confident at what is about to happen. Two more men appear at his sides, faceless men. Instantly, they are standing in my room and then I hear the familiar pound of dozens of fists on my window. They are here, like always, to kill me. I slide one of the mirrors aside, knowing that I will find a gun inside. My fingers wrap around the cool metal handle and fire a bullet at each man, knowing that I've killed each one with each bullet I fire.

When I run out of bullets, I see the initiate panic. She drops to the fetal position and cries uncontrollably. Obviously this fear is very real for her as well.

As the men come into my bedroom and come towards me, I know that like always, I cannot defeat them. I must calm myself.

I grab the initiate and hide behind the mirror in the closet where I got the gun. I breathe slowly and deliberately and calm myself rather quickly. My Abnegation room fades and I am relieved when that fear is over.

The next initiate and I enter my next fear. I know it won't be intimacy with Tobias, as I was able to overcome that quite a long time ago. It is a familiar scene, but different in so many ways.

I feel a gun in my hands and wrap my fingers around it. In the middle of the room, standing in a spotlight are my parents and Tobias. What really gets me is that Tobias is carrying what looks like a fetus. It is extremely small and not very identifiable. I know that I am supposed to kill all of them.

I hear Jeanine harshly telling me to "do it" or else she will kill me. I look at Tobias, sympathy and understanding in his eyes.

"It's okay Tris. You can do it," he encourages me. I know that there is another way though.

"Do it. Now!" Jeanine yells at me, threatening me with my own life.

"Never." My voice is firm and strong. I drop the gun to the floor and let it clatter.

I hear a bang before everything goes black and I am back in the landscape room. The initiate looks so amazed at what he just saw. I look away from him, slightly ashamed.

The next initiate and I plunge back into my fear landscape. I have already gone through six fears. There is only one left.

To my surprise though, when the scene comes to life, we are in the field again, ready to face the crows.

I feel an instant sense of gratification. I am truly Six now.


	17. Chapter 17 - The Visit

**Author's Note: As always, thanks to my Beta, Blueheaven8910. But I would like to give each of you a special thank you for all of the overwhelming support and interest you guys have shown in my story. It is really exciting to see other people excited about this story. So THANK YOU!**

**I hope you all enjoy this one.**

* * *

Chapter 17

_Tris_

* * *

After travelling through my fear landscape, the initiates all go through their full landscapes. It's really interesting to watch them all on the screen instead of just their reactions like I did last year. Once they all finish, we deliberate and come up with the rankings.

Everyone gathers in the dining hall to hear the results. Hadley, who is Divergent and so much like myself, naturally ranks first. The biggest surprise though, is Mina. She ranks last. I look over towards her when the rankings are revealed and see her face drop. Her twin sister, Charlotte, finished third and was elated, until she noticed the result of her twin.

* * *

Once dinner and celebrating started winding down, I looked over at Tobias and saw his exhaustion as well.

"We should head home, I'm getting really tired," I tell him.

"Yeah, let's get out of here." His eyes glimmer with love and desire in a way that makes me feel safe and comfortable.

We start walking out of the cafeteria when I feel a tap on my shoulder.

"Tris? Can I talk to you for a minute?" It's Mina. Her eyes are red and puffy with sadness radiating from them.

"Of course, sweetie. What's wrong?"

"I'm just not sure that I was ever cut out to be Dauntless. My aptitude results were Erudite, but Charlotte's were Dauntless. So, I lied to her and told her mine were Dauntless too, so that we wouldn't be separated. I couldn't stay there without her and I knew she would leave me if I did. I just was wondering if you could see about Erudite letting me switch back and go home. I don't like it here at all and I don't fit in." Fat tears drop from her eyes as she speaks, clearly trying to hold back her overwhelming emotions.

"But Mina, you didn't even hesitate when you sliced your hand at the Choosing Ceremony and Charlotte did. If anything, I would have expected her to be coming to me saying this, not you." My mind is racing with thoughts of what she must be feeling and going through. It was such a hard decision for me to leave Abnegation even when I knew I didn't belong there. Mina knew she belonged in Erudite and still left. She chose blood over faction.

"Will you try? I just want to go home," she says with swollen eyes and a waver in her voice that demands sympathy.

"Yes, I will go talk to them. I cannot promise you anything, but I hope that you will try to make Dauntless your home until we know something more. There are great people here, you just have to get to know them."

Tobias and I continue making our way to our apartment. It's not really that far, but sometimes the walk seems endless. My mind is high on thoughts of Erudite. All I can think of is what would happen if I went there and ran into Caleb. I haven't seen him since I was in the hospital after I took his place going into the Weapon's Lab. Since we came back to the city and went back into our factions, I haven't thought twice about seeing him again. Tobias is my family now anyways.

When we get back to the apartment, I see the curiosity in his eyes.

"So are you going to go to Erudite?" he asks simultaneously as he shuts the door.

"Yes, I will. Why shouldn't I? If Mina is miserable, I want to try to help her out." I'm pretty sure my face has "Are you an idiot?" written across it because Tobias's face looks pretty pissed off.

"You don't want me to go, do you?" I ask him.

"No, I don't think it's a good idea. She will find her place here eventually. She'll get over it, they always do."

"That is one of the rudest things you've said, Tobias. She is still a person and she deserves to be happy. If she is miserable here, I want to at least try to help her get back to Erudite. Even if they say no, I'd rather at least be able to say I tried to help." My face is stern and annoyed. I'm surprised we haven't begun yelling at each other yet. We're both so obviously agitated.

"I think that you're going to try to see Caleb and talk to him and I think that that is the worst possible thing you can do. He is _not_ your family anymore."

"Why does it even matter to you, Tobias? He's still my blood. I took his place to sacrifice myself out of love for him and I lived. That's all that matters. Can you please stop holding this against me?" The volume of my voice is obviously rising and my words are coming out more and more quickly.

"I'm not holding that against you, but I'm asking you to move on from him and leave that part of your life behind. I want you to have this life with me. If you are still going to go anyways, can you at least promise me that you won't make an effort to go see him or talk to him?"

"Okay, Tobias. I won't make an effort to go out and talk to him or see him specifically. I'll just go to Erudite and talk to Cara about getting Mina back over there. If they won't allow it, I'll talk to Mina and try to help her fit in. If Cara says yes, then I'll need to go talk to all of the other faction leaders and get their approval and okay as well. I'm assuming that you are okay with it?" Tobias replies with a nod so I continue, "Okay so then I'll just need to talk to Emily and Harrison as well. I'll head over to Erudite tomorrow morning after breakfast."

"That's fine." Tobias's tone radiates annoyance. I try to ignore it though. I don't want to give him the satisfaction of changing my decisions one little bit.

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, I begin the journey to Erudite. I catch the 8:05 train. Now that the Factionless have rechosen other factions, volunteers run the trains – most of whom used to run them anyways.

I start jogging as the train approaches, quickly accelerating into a sprint. My arms pump beside my torso, propelling me along. Once the train and I are at a close enough speed, I grab a handle next to an open door and swing myself inside.

Once I get inside the train car, I lie on my back and breathe deeply, catching my breath.

As my journey progresses, the buildings slowly get taller and taller.

It doesn't take me too long to get to the Erudite Library. Just like I remember it, it is in the center of all of the Erudite buildings. It is massive and smells of old book pages and lots of dust. It's still hard for me to believe that I have an aptitude for this. The floor is creaky and there are bookcases everywhere I look. There is one huge change in the Erudite Library though – the massive picture of Jeanine is gone. It is a welcoming sight.

I head over to the receptionist desk but on my way there, I catch a glimpse of black amongst the sea of blue. I'm surprised to see another Dauntless in Erudite, but I'm even more surprised when I recognize the face. Emily.

Instantaneously, my mind starts to speculate what she could possibly be doing here. What is she plotting? I start walking over in her direction when I hear someone calling my name. I spin around in place quickly to see whom the voice belongs to.

"Cara! I was just about to come looking for you. I need to talk to you about an initiate," I explain to her, a smile beaming across each of our faces.

"Absolutely, let's head up to my office so we can have a little privacy," she replies.

We start to head towards the elevator to go up to Cara's office, but as we walk, I glance back where I saw Emily to see that she has disappeared.

Cara's office is on the top floor of the Library. It's not even close to where Jeanine's was, which is nice for me, as I have so many bad memories there.

"So, what did you want to discuss?" Cara asks as she pours me a cup of tea.

"Well, two girls, twins actually, transferred to Dauntless from here –"

"Oh, Charlotte and Mina!" Cara interjects.

"Yes, Charlotte and Mina. Well, Mina came up to me last night after we announced the rankings and she was really upset. She told me how Charlotte had the aptitude for Dauntless and she had the aptitude for Erudite. She didn't want to leave her twin, so she lied and said that she had the aptitude for Dauntless as well and they transferred over. Well, it seems as though Mina is pretty miserable in Dauntless and she would really like to switch back over and come home to Erudite. Is that something you think we could do for her?"

"Well, Tris, I really want to help you out, I do. But it's just not something we should do. If we allow her to do it, what's to say that there won't be someone else coming up and asking for the same favor? It would just start a big thing of people trying to switch factions. If that's what we wanted to happen, then we should have just abolished the factions altogether to begin with. I feel bad for her, I really do, but we can't allow this. She will fit in eventually, I'm sure." Cara does show a lot of sympathy, but at this moment, I just feel defeat and sadness for Mina.

"I understand. I just wanted to try to help her out. She just seems so miserable and no one should have to feel that way. But like you said, she will fit in eventually," I conclude. "Well, thanks for taking the time to meet with me and thank you for the tea, it's delicious."

"Anytime Tris. I'm glad to see that you are doing well," Cara states with a smile.

"You too, Cara."

* * *

The train ride back to Dauntless seems to take an eternity. When I arrive, I head straight to Tobias's office to talk to him.

"Hey," I state flatly as I enter his office, neglecting to knock or announce my presence.

"Hey Tris. What's wrong? Why did you just storm in here, that's not like you?" he asks, confused and concerned.

"Well I went to Erudite like we talked about," I start.

"Did you run into Caleb? You seem pretty upset."

"No, actually. I didn't even see him at all. Who I did run into was a huge surprise to me. Emily was there. She was talking to a few Erudite and when I turned around to greet Cara, she disappeared. I think she's up to something Tobias. I'm just not sure what."

"Tris, I'm sure she was just dealing with faction relations. It's part of her job, you know. People can go talk to other factions when they need to, just like you did today," he explains.

"Well, this didn't look like faction relations. And besides, if it was, wouldn't she be meeting with Cara? Not some random Erudites?" I think Tobias is starting to understand where I'm coming from, because I can see him thinking.

"What if she's plotting something Tobias? We don't need more drama or another war. We've had enough crazy shit happen to last us a lifetime," I explain.

"I don't know Tris. I don't think she would do something like that. It just doesn't seem like something she would do."

"Oh, because you know her _so_ well. You never know Tobias! I had no idea that Caleb would do some of the stupid things that he did. I just don't trust her."

"Okay, well how about you keep an eye on her and see what you can find out. You can be a little detective," he says slyly.

"You're just saying that to make me happy and make me shut up and get out of your office, aren't you?" I ask.

"Maybe that's exactly what my plan is." A smile creeps across his face.

I head out of his office without another word, enjoying the fact that he's letting me look into this, even though I can tell he doesn't want me to. I have a feeling I'll find out something, I just hope I find nothing.


	18. Chapter 18 - The Excursion

**Author's Note: As always, thank you thank you thank you to each and every reader. I appreciate all the support. Also, thanks to my Beta, Blueheaven8910. Reviews are super motivating and appreciative. They help keep me writing! I hope you all enjoy this one.**

* * *

Chapter 18

_Tris_

* * *

The past two weeks, I've spent my free time watching Emily. I've memorized her daily routine at this point, so any time she deviates, it's easy for me to notice. She wakes up at seven and then spends forty-five-minutes getting ready. She then heads to her office where she works until lunch, which she eats in the cafeteria. She goes back to her office after a thirty-minute lunch break and then leaves at five-thirty. Before lunch, she spends her time on the phone with what sounds like other factions. She frequently talks about food supply as well as research data. One morning, I heard her talking about flowers for a good hour and a half. That was a little abnormal, but what could she be doing with flowers? I start to think it might be a code word for something else. Maybe "flowers" is the name of the rebellion. Operation Flowers. In the afternoon, she spends her time doing paperwork and computer work I assume, because she rarely makes phone calls and she lets most of the ones she receives go to voicemail.

Today is Tuesday. I wake up just like any other day – bright and early at six-thirty so that I have time to go see what Emily is up to today. As my alarm goes off and my eyes slowly pry open, I feel Tobias squeeze me a little around my middle with his heavy and muscular arm that he drapes over me every night. What surprises me about this morning, though, is that when I get to Emily's apartment door and wait for her to leave, she never comes out. This break of the daily routine definitely wakes me up fast. I quickly decide that the best course of action is to head up to her secretary and try to get some information out of him.

"Grayson!" I shout as I enter his office. "Where is Emily today? I knocked on her office door and she isn't there. I need to talk to her right away – it's important." My words come out like rapid gunfire. I can see the surprise in his face at my urgency.

"Uhh, Miss Tris, she is out of the office today. She is visiting one of the other Factions today taking care of some Faction Relations," Grayson explains to me, hesitation in his voice.

"Which Faction? I can go see her, that's not a problem. I just need to know where she is Grayson."

"I'm sorry Miss, I can't tell you which Faction she is visiting today. It's confidential."

"Okay, fine. When will she be back? I'll come see her in her office when she returns," I state matter-of-factly.

"I'm not sure. She could be gone all day; she could be back in an hour. It really just depends."

"Fine. I'll just check back periodically to see if she has returned." I know something is up now. Grayson is being far too secretive for me not to believe that something fishy is going on. It's just a matter of time until I get to the bottom of all of this.

* * *

"Hi, Tobias," I say as I knock on his office door and slowly open it, hoping not to disturb his work.

"You look like you're plotting something. What's going on?" he replies, curiosity filling his beautiful blue eyes.

"I was keeping tabs Emily, as usual, but she's not even in Dauntless today. Her assistant won't tell me where she is though. I really think she's up to something. First she's randomly in Erudite, and now, two weeks later, she's out at another Faction? Something is definitely going on, Tobias. I just don't know what. I get this weird feeling that she's trying to rally the Minneapolis residents and rebel against us natives." As I explain my thought process, Tobias seems entirely uninterested.

"Tris," he begins, "I think you're over thinking this. It's just Emily. She's not that type of person. I'm sure she's just dealing with Faction relations. The Minneapolis people seem happy here. I don't see any reason why she would try to lead a rebellion. That's just crazy talk. I think you should just let it go and stop stalking her."

"But Tobias, I really feel like something is going on. I feel it in my gut. This just doesn't seem right," I say frantically.

"Why don't you go shopping with Christina or something? Just get your mind off of all of this. You need to stop over thinking it," he says nonchalantly.

"Okay, fine," I state with my voice sounding defeated. "I'll go find Christina and go hang out with her or something." Although I tell Tobias this, I really have no intention of following through.

* * *

A few minutes after I've left Tobias's office, I go down to the train tracks and wait for the familiar rumble that signals and incoming train. She's already gone to Erudite, and Abnegation can't have much that she needs, so I decide to go to Candor and search for her.

It takes roughly ten minutes for a train to finally come, but when it does, I know the journey will take an eternity because of my excitement and anticipation of whether or not I will find her.

I get ready to jump off the train when I see the Merciless Mart come into view. The big ditch that was once a river is a dead giveaway that I'm getting closer. The bottom is filled with broken twigs and dead leaves and limbs.

When I get inside the building, I remember the day the Loyal Dauntless and Candor were attacked here by the Erudite and Dauntless Traitors. I remember seeing Eric shoot Divergent. I don't want to remember any more, so I quickly push the thoughts from my mind.

The black and white marble halls are something to marvel at. There's not much else like the Merciless Mart in the entire city – with its massive size and beauty.

As I gaze around the main entry, I catch the front desk person staring at me, probably wondering why I keep looking around in awe. It's not like I've never seen this place before, but it still looks amazing, even now.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm looking for Emily, Dauntless leader. Do you know if she is here today?" I ask, trying not to sound nosy.

"No ma'am, I haven't seen any other Dauntless come around here in a while. Sorry," the young man stated empathetically.

I turned around to leave, quickly realizing one thing. She must be at Amity. What the hell she could be doing there is beyond me. They're the ones who advocate for peace. If she's trying to start a war, they're not the people she should be going to. Tobias would tell me to leave this alone, but I don't care anymore; I'm heading to Amity.

* * *

Once I hop on the rickety train, my mind flutters through different conspiracies I have about what Emily could be up to, but naturally, I always land back on the same one – rebellion.

I see the fence beginning to come into view, so I start getting ready to jump off of the train. The trip to Amity is a long one, but it's well worth it in most cases – this one more than most.

As I walk through the gate, the majestic orchards come into view. Amity is my favorite faction to visit because of its beauty and wonder. There's just something so unique about it. Maybe it's just the bread.

I decide to take a little detour from finding Emily. Since I'm here, I might as well spend some time enjoying the orchards. I head to my favorite spot deep within the trees. My feet familiarly sink into the moist earth as I walk underneath the tunnel of branches. The smell of crisp, sweet apples engulfs me. I climb up one of the trees and settle myself within the limbs. I like to think it is the same tree where I perched myself after the high dose of peace serum ran off from my fight with Peter. Memories flood back to me about the times Tobias and I were able to spend here in Amity, enjoying each other's company and our safe haven.

I rest in the limbs for a long while before I decide to continue on my mission to find Emily. I stretch out in order to prepare myself to jump down out of the tree, but as I do so, I hear voices. At first I can't make out what they're saying, but as they come closer, the words are very distinct.

"Oh, that would be perfect Johanna!" I instantly recognize the voice as belonging to Emily.

"Anything to help you out, my dear. You've only been kind to us and I am glad to return the favor in any way possible," Johanna replies with her whimsical voice.

"Thank you so much for your commitment. It means a lot to my fellow Dauntless and me. And thanks for showing me around the orchards. They're beautiful!" Emily says excitedly.

"Well, thanks for stopping by. I look forward to seeing you on the 24th so we can make this happen. It's time for a change around here anyways. Things have been getting boring." A smirk creeps across Johanna's face while a look of disgust spreads across mine. I can't believe Johanna would team up with the enemy in order to plot against us. This is as much proof as I need to bring to Tobias. There is definitely something going on here.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Explanation

Chapter 19

_Tobias_

* * *

It seems like only yesterday Tris lost the baby. I don't think she's gotten over it yet and that's why she has been distracting herself with this whole Emily situation. She has been spending all of her time stalking Emily and trying to listen in on her conversations in order to sleuth out what she's doing every moment of every day. I know, though, that Emily isn't doing anything harmful.

As I stare at the giant list of work that I need to get done, I hear a confident knock on my door.

"Come in," I say bleakly. I expect a messenger or Harrison arriving with more work for me to do, but the face I see surprises me. "Zeke! What's up man?" I quickly get up out of my seat in order to give him a "bro-hug".

"I feel like I haven't seen you in a while, so I thought I'd come find ya and invite you to lunch with me. We have a lot of catching up to do anyways," he says enthusiastically.

I ponder my to-do list for half a second before I excitedly agree. "Absolutely. I really need to get the hell out of this office."

"How's the job been going so far? Do you like it?" he asks me as we begin walking to the elevator and head to the cafeteria.

"It's good. It has its perks and it's frustrations. I really like being able to get whatever I want for the most part, but it sucks having so much stress and responsibility. The work never stops and just when you think you'll have an easy low-stress day, something major comes up that ruins it. It's a lose-lose situation sometimes. But forget about my job. What's new with you? Anything new with you and Emily?" I ask, excited to change the topic.

"You work with her and you haven't talked to her about it?" Zeke asks, almost offended.

"Her relationship status isn't exactly something we talk about. We have a lot of other things to talk about and besides, I'd rather ask you instead of her. You're actually my friend, she isn't."

"Yeah I suppose," he says as we enter the cafeteria.

"So, you never answered my question. How are things between you and Emily?" I ask again, attempting to hide my intense curiosity.

"We're actually doing really good. We weren't trying to have anything serious. We were just planning on being friends with benefits, but we slowly realized that there was more there than we thought. I really do like her. She's special," he explains.

"So, when's the wedding?" I joke.

"I'm sure you'll have one way before we do."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that," I retort.

We go through the line in silence, each picking up a heaping plateful of food. Most of my plate is filled with cake. The stress of my job is easily cured with a nice slice of cake. I think Tris has started to notice though. I see her look me up and down occasionally, obviously sizing up my growing girth.

"Where's Tris today? I haven't seen her in a few weeks. It seems like she's always busy," Zeke asks, rightfully curious.

"She thinks Emily is plotting something. Like a rebellion or something, so she's been following Emily around and eavesdropping on her conversations trying to investigate."

"Oh… Is Emily planning something stupid like that?" Zeke asks, clearly doubtful of Emily's actions meaning well.

"Nah, she's not planning anything bad. I know what she's up to, but it's a huge secret. I've been denying everything to Tris and just letting her do her thing. It keeps her occupied anyways," I state nonchalantly.

"Speak of the devil. Your woman is here, Four," Zeke says through a mouthful of lunch.

I glance over in her direction and catch her eyes. She quickly redirects herself over towards Zeke and me.

"Hey, how was your little adventure?" I ask, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"It was informative, that's for sure. I really need to talk to you, Tobias," she says with a stern and determined voice. I can tell that I'm not going to enjoy this conversation.

"Okay, can you meet me in my office in like twenty minutes? I really just want to relax and finish lunch and catching up with Zeke."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," she says annoyed before walking away.

"Well, I'm not too excited to deal with that," I say flatly to Zeke.

"I don't blame you. She's so moody now days. Ever since she lost the baby, every time I see her she's moody as hell. Is she ever happy? Are you keeping her happy in the bedroom?"

"Dude, you are so nosy, you know that? And yes, she is happy. She's just been moody with this whole Emily thing because I haven't really been taking her side on it. I'm just staying neutral about it and not really caring because I don't want her to overreact and start trouble when there's no need. I'm sure Emily is just dealing with faction relations and such. I mean, she is a leader after all. These are the types of things she does on a daily basis. It's nothing out of the ordinary."

"Sorry, I just barely see either of you anymore so I don't really know what all is going on with you two nowadays."

"That's my fault. I haven't been making time for anyone but Tris outside of work. I'll try to change that. Maybe we can make lunch a weekly thing or something," I offer, attempting to remedy any damage to our friendship that I might have caused.

"I'm up for that. I think it's a pretty good idea." He sounds enthusiastic, so I know I've done what I wanted.

"Well, I'd better head up to my office. I'm sure Tris is there waiting for me. I don't want to put her in a worse mood than the one she's already in," I tell him, slightly rolling my eyes.

"Alright, Four. I'll see you later," he says with a chuckle.

By the time I get back to the floor my office is on, I'm sure Tris went straight there after she talked to me in the cafeteria and she's been waiting ever since. When I open my office door, my suspicions are confirmed. She is sitting in the chair in the corner, her face filled with frustration and I can tell that her mind is spinning with thoughts.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I ask her, pretending to be clueless.

"Well, Emily wasn't in her office this morning, so I went looking for her in Candor," she begins.

"Did you find her there?"

"No. She wasn't there. So, then, I decided to go to Amity. I found her there talking to Johanna and thanking her for her _commitment_. Whatever that's supposed to mean. I'm pretty sure that Emily is enlisting the Amity in her rebellion."

"Tris, think about what you just said. Amity? Rebelling? Do you really think that's going to happen? They would barely take our side against the Erudite and Jeanine. I don't think she was talking to Johanna about a rebellion. It was probably an agreement for more food for us or something like that. I'm sure it was just faction relations," I explain to her, trying to deter her mind from starting trouble when there's no reason to.

"I'm so confident that she's up to something bad, Tobias. I don't trust her. Not one bit." Tris's last three words have a bite to them as each sputters out of her mouth.

"Until you have something more concrete, there's nothing we can do. Right now all you have is speculation, Tris. I really think Emily was just negotiating a deal with Johanna. I'm sure it was nothing. I wish you would stop assuming that she's up to no good," I tell her, feeling sympathetic towards Emily.

"Alright. I'll keep at this until I have something "concrete" for you," she says, sarcastically emphasizing the word "concrete" in an attempt to mock me.

"Yeah, you do that Tris. I'll see you at home tonight when I'm done working. Hopefully by then you'll be in a better mood." Zeke is right. Tris is pretty moody most of the time. It's starting to get old. I wish she would just get over it and go back to her old self again.


End file.
